Ninjago Wiki

READ MORE

Ninjago Wiki
Advertisement
Overview   Transcript   Gallery    
“There is one way that non-members can be permitted. A Trial By Sphinx.”

Riddle of the Sphinx is the tenth episode of the fourteenth season of Ninjago and the 174th episode overall. It aired on April 27, 2021, paired up with "The Storm Amulet."[1] It released in the US on November 19, 2021, alongside The Island and the rest of the episodes of Seabound.

Synopsis[]

In Ninjago City, Wu, Cole, Kai, Ray, and Misako must get into the Explorer’s Club and recover the Storm Amulet before King Kalmaar and his troops.[1]

Extended: Kai, Ray, Cole, Wu, and Misako receive Nya's warning and rush to the Explorer's Club to retrieve the amulet - they successfully answer a riddle to gain access just as Kalmaar and his forces arrive to battle for the amulet. Meanwhile, on the island, Benthomaar encourages Nya to try using her power in a surprising new way, giving them a chance to return to Ninjago City.[2]

Plot[]

Kai and Ray are sparring at the Monastery for Wu when Cole runs up to them with a message from Nya and the other ninja: The Storm Amulet is at the Explorer's Club. They are left to ponder about who the thief is, who is none other than Clutch Powers.

At the Explorer's Club, Clutch proudly shows off the amulet to his fellow colleagues, along with a slide presentation full of “illustrations” detailing his adventure on the uncharted island. Impressed with his tall tale, his partners decide that his inspiring actions should earn him a nomination for the Explorer of the Year award.

Meanwhile, Nya and the others are stranded at the Island, where she continues to blame herself for Kalmaar’s actions. Even worse, Zane reports there is no way to fix the Hydro Bounty. After that moment, Benthomaar asks Nya if she could summon the whales which Nya disbelievingly replies no and claims she only has the power to control water. Maya agrees, telling Bentho that she would have noticed this too since she was the previous Master of Water. However, Bentho persists, asking if they tried it before. They both reply with a no again. Seeing they had no option left, Nya goes out into the sea to try this new approach with her powers.

Back in Ninjago City, the ninja charge into the Explorer's Club estate and find Cecil Putnam at the front. He expresses his surprise at Misako’s presence and asks them how he can help. Misako immediately replies that they must see Clutch to which Cecil coolly asks for her membership card. She reminds him that he revoked it so Cecil informs her that he will begin the reactivation process for her membership and that no one could enter further. Wu then exclaims that this is an emergency and Clutch is in possession of a very dangerous artifact. Cecil mockingly tells him the members laugh in the face of danger, which Misako confirms. With the unsuccessful conversation ending, she invokes the Trial By Sphinx, a trial in which one has three guesses to answer before consequences happen. Kai is able to answer the riddle correctly on the third guess and Cecil lets them through. They burst in on Clutch finishing up his tall tale and demand for the amulet. Unfortunately, Kalmaar and his forces also arrive for the amulet. Clutch gives the amulet to Wu and runs off screaming, a shameful scene his fellow members were not proud of. Kalmaar then commands Wu to bring him the amulet, to which he refuses and a battle ensues.

Nya continues to concentrate on her powers and she is able to summon the whales.

Appearances[]

Characters[]

Cast[]

Non-speaking[]

Mentioned[]

Miscellaneous[]

Events[]

Items[]

Vehicles[]

Creatures[]

Locations[]

Species[]

Trivia[]

Wu s14 mistake

Comparison of Wu in the teaser and the episode

  • The Seabound teaser trailer published on the LEGO YouTube channel contains a short shot of Wu at night, although the real scene in the episode is in daylight.

Cultural references[]

  • The title refers to the famous riddle which asks, "What walks on four feet in the morning, two feet at noon, and three feet in the evening?"

Continuity[]

  • Early in the episode, Wu instructs Kai to shoot a burst of Fire at Ray. In "Pause and Effect", when Kai thought his father was a traitor, he almost did this before Nya told him to stop.
    • It is as of yet unknown what would happen, though one could surmise Wu did not expect Ray to be injured.
  • For some reason, Clutch Powers appears in the club, despite presumably losing his membership and the renewal process taking multiple years.
    • He presumably lost his membership in the same expedition Misako lost hers in, as the Explorer's Club is notorious for strict adherence to their ridiculously over-complicated bureaucracy, with no exceptions.
  • This episode reveals that Nyad was the first Elemental Master of Water and that Nya is named after her.
    • Nya also learns how to summon aquatic creatures using her powers.
  • The episode is very similar to "The Explorers Club," as both episodes consist of a short introduction scene, an entrance to the Explorer's Club, where the ninja must somehow get to some valuable artifact. In both of them, one of the members of the club also presents his expedition and Cecil Putnam argues with the ninja.
    • Wu's line "This is an emergency!" refers to the same lines by Zane and Lloyd in "The Explorers Club", which they said in exactly the same place in the same way.
    • Kai refers to Cecil as a pencil pusher; Nya also calls him this in "The Explorers Club".
  • Misako telling Cecil the matter of non-members must be dealt with by a 'Trial By Sphinx' is partially similar to Gulch telling Kai and Zane that the matter of being skeletons must be dealt with by a 'Trial-By-Mino'.
  • The scene where Misako can't believe she was a member of the club was partially revealed by Tommy Andreasen on X when he said, "Misako may have been a part but quit because of their rules and old-fashioned ways."[4]
  • It turns out that one way to get into the Explorer's Club without being a member is to correctly answer the riddle in a Trial By Sphinx.
  • The appearance of the Sphinx bears resemblance to Mambo V's palace, as both take influence from Ancient Egypt.
  • The Sphinx's riddle is based on one of the Ninjigma's riddles from Ninjago: Decoded, which reads, "Feed me and I grow, always hungry. Give me something to drink and I die, always angry." The answer is also fire.
    • Kai answers correctly both times, though here he finds it less obvious.
    • He is the only one to get the correct answer on his first guess for both occasions.
  • Underhill uses the Tiger wasps against a Maaray Guard, in "The Explorers Club" they swarmed against him and Shippelton.
  • The Teapot of Tyrahn can be seen sitting on a shelf in the background of the Explorer's Club. It can be assumed that since it was last seen with Clutch Powers in Season 12, he added the teapot to his collection of artifacts.
  • Interestingly, the security guards did not come to defend the club, as Kalmaar's burglary was much more dangerous and destructive than the ninja's burglary in "The Explorers Club."
  • The way Kalmaar took Wu's bo staff by his tentacle is the same as he later took Benthomaar's spear in "The Turn of the Tide."

Videos[]

Translations[]

Language Name
Dutch Het Raadsel van de Sfinx
French L'Énigme du Sphinx
German Das Rätsel der Sphinx
Italian L'Enigma della Sfinge
Korean 스핑크스의 수수께끼
Polish Zagadka Sfinksa
Spanish El acertijo de la esfinge

References[]

Ninjago episodes
Pilot episodes 1. Way of the Ninja · 2. The Golden Weapon · 3. King of Shadows · 4. Weapons of Destiny
Mini-movies 1. Secrets of the Blacksmith · 2. Flight of the Dragon Ninja · 3. The New Masters of Spinjitzu · 4. An Underworldly Takeover · 5. Return to the Fire Temple · 6. Battle Between Brothers
Season 1: Rise of the Snakes 1. Rise of the Snakes · 2. Home · 3. Snakebit · 4. Never Trust a Snake · 5. Can of Worms · 6. The Snake King · 7. Tick Tock · 8. Once Bitten, Twice Shy · 9. The Royal Blacksmiths · 10. The Green Ninja · 11. All of Nothing · 12. The Rise of the Great Devourer · 13. Day of the Great Devourer
Season 2: Legacy of the Green Ninja 14. Darkness Shall Rise · 15. Pirates vs. Ninja · 16. Double Trouble · 17. Ninjaball Run · 18. Child's Play · 19. Wrong Place, Wrong Time · 20. The Stone Army · 21. The Day Ninjago Stood Still · 22. The Last Voyage · 23. Island of Darkness · 24. The Last Hope · 25. Return of the Overlord · 26. Rise of the Spinjitzu Master
Season 3: Rebooted 27. The Surge · 28. The Art of the Silent Fist · 29. Blackout · 30. The Curse of the Golden Master · 31. Enter the Digiverse · 32. Codename: Arcturus · 33. The Void · 34. The Titanium Ninja
Season 4: Tournament of Elements 35. The Invitation · 36. Only One Can Remain · 37. Versus · 38. Ninja Roll · 39. Spy for a Spy · 40. Spellbound · 41. The Forgotten Element · 42. The Day of the Dragon · 43. The Greatest Fear of All · 44. The Corridor of Elders
Season 5: Possession 45. Winds of Change · 46. Ghost Story · 47. Stiix and Stones· 48. The Temple on Haunted Hill · 49. Peak-a-Boo · 50. Kingdom Come · 51. The Crooked Path · 52. Grave Danger · 53. Curseworld, Part I · 54. Curseworld, Part II
Chen mini-movies (non-canon) 1. Chen's New Chair · 2. Chair Play Chen · 3. Chair Up Chen · 4. Chairful What You Wish For · 5. Bad Chair Day
Season 6: Skybound 55. Infamous · 56. Public Enemy Number One · 57. Enkrypted · 58. Misfortune Rising · 59. On a Wish and a Prayer · 60. My Dinner With Nadakhan · 61. Wishmasters · 62. The Last Resort · 63. Operation Land Ho! · 64. The Way Back
Tall Tales (non-canon) 1. The Tall Tale of Flintlocke · 2. The Tall Tale of Clancee · 3. The Tall Tale of Doubloon · 4. The Tall Tale of Dogshank · 5. The Tall Tale of Monkey Wretch · 6. The Tall Tale of Sqiffy and Bucko
Special Day of the Departed
Operation Heavy Metal 1. Operation Heavy Metal: Machia · 2. Operation Heavy Metal: Buffmillion · 3. Operation Heavy Metal: Blunck · 4. Operation Heavy Metal: Raggmunk
Season 7: The Hands of Time 65. The Hands of Time · 66. The Hatching · 67. A Time of Traitors · 68. Scavengers · 69. A Line in the Sand · 70. The Attack · 71. Secrets Discovered · 72. Pause and Effect · 73. Out of the Fire and Into the Boiling Sea · 74. Lost in Time
Wu's Teas (non-canon) Wu's Teas
Ninjago: Decoded 1. Legacy · 2. Vehicles and Mechs · 3. Legendary Places · 4. Ninjago's Most Wanted · 5. The Digiverse and Beyond · 6. The Elemental Masters · 7. Beasts and Dragons · 8. Rise of Garmadon · 9. Prophecy of the Green Ninja · 10. Greatest Battles
Season 8: Sons of Garmadon 75. The Mask of Deception · 76. The Jade Princess · 77. The Oni and the Dragon · 78. Snake Jaguar · 79. Dead Man's Squall · 80. The Quiet One · 81. Game of Masks · 82. Dread on Arrival · 83. True Potential · 84. Big Trouble, Little Ninjago
Season 9: Hunted 85. Firstbourne · 86. Iron & Stone · 87. Radio Free Ninjago · 88. How to Build a Dragon · 89. The Gilded Path · 90. Two Lies, One Truth · 91. The Weakest Link · 92. Saving Faith · 93. Lessons for a Master · 94. Green Destiny
Tales from the Monastery of Spinjitzu 1. Master Class · 2. Green and Gold · 3. The Weekend Drill · 4. Elemental Rider · 5. Blue Lightning · 6. Samurai X-Treme
Season 10: March of the Oni 95. The Darkness Comes · 96. Into the Breach · 97. The Fall · 98. Endings
Season 11: Secrets of the Forbidden Spinjitzu 99. Wasted True Potential · 100. Questing for Quests · 101. A Rocky Start · 102. The Belly of the Beast · 103. Boobytraps and How to Survive Them · 104. The News Never Sleeps! · 105. Ninja vs Lava · 106. Snaketastrophy · 107. Powerless · 108. Ancient History · 109. Never Trust a Human · 110. Under Siege · 111. The Explorers Club · 112. Vengeance is Mine! · 113. A Cold Goodbye · 114. The Never-Realm · 115. Fire Maker · 116. An Unlikely Ally · 117. The Absolute Worst · 118. The Message · 119. The Traveler's Tree · 120. Krag's Lament · 121. Secret of the Wolf · 122. The Last of the Formlings · 123. My Enemy, My Friend · 124. The Kaiju Protocol · 125. Corruption · 126. A Fragile Hope · 127. Once and for All · 128. Awakenings
Prime Empire Original Shorts 1. Let's Dance · 2. Upgrade · 3. The Meaning of Victory · 4. The Stowaway · 5. Manhunt · 6. Gayle Gossip: A Closer Look
Season 12: Prime Empire 129. Would You Like to Enter Prime Empire? · 130. Dyer Island · 131. Level Thirteen · 132. Superstar Rockin' Jay · 133. I am Okino · 134. The Glitch · 135. The Cliffs of Hysteria · 136. The Maze of the Red Dragon · 137. One Step Forward, Two Steps Back · 138. Racer Seven · 139. The Speedway Five-Billion · 140. Stop, Drop and Side Scroll · 141. Ninjago Confidential · 142. The Prodigal Father · 143. The Temple of Madness · 144. Game Over
Season 13: Master of the Mountain 145. Shintaro · 146. Into the Dark · 147. The Worst Rescue Ever · 148. The Two Blades · 149. Queen of the Munce · 150. Trial By Mino · 151. The Skull Sorcerer · 152. The Real Fall · 153. Dungeon Party! · 154. Dungeon Crawl! · 155. Grief-Bringer · 156. Masters Never Quit · 157. The Darkest Hour · 158. The Ascent · 159. The Upply Strike Back! · 160. The Son of Lilly
The Island 161. Uncharted · 162. The Keepers of the Amulet · 163. The Gift of Jay · 164. The Tooth of Wojira
Season 14: Seabound 165. A Big Splash · 166. The Call of the Deep · 167. Unsinkable · 168. Five Thousand Fathoms Down · 169. The Wrath of Kalmaar · 170. Long Live the King · 171. Escape from Merlopia · 172. The Tale of Benthomaar · 173. The Storm Amulet · 174. Riddle of the Sphinx · 175. Papergirl · 176. Master of the Sea · 177. The Calm Before the Storm · 178. Assault on Ninjago City · 179. Nyad · 180. The Turn of the Tide
Ninjago: Reimagined 1. Golden Legend · 2. Gold Rush · 3. A Day in the Life of a Golden Ninja · 4. Sweatin' to the Goldies · 5. Golden Hour
The Virtues of Spinjitzu 1. Curiosity · 2. Balance · 3. Wisdom · 4. Honesty · 5. Generosity · 6. Courage
Season 15: Crystalized 181. Farewell the Sea · 182. The Call of Home · 183. The Shape of Nya · 184. A Mayor Problem · 185. Public Enemies 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5! · 186. A Painful Promise · 187. Ninjago City vs. Ninja · 188. Kryptarium Prison Blues · 189. Hounddog McBrag · 190. The Benefit of Grief · 191. The Fifth Villain · 192. The Council of the Crystal King · 193. A Sinister Shadow · 194. The Spider's Design · 195. The Fall of the Monastery · 196. Darkness Within · 197. The Coming of the King · 198. Return to Primeval's Eye · 199. Crystastrophe · 200. Christofern · 201. A Lesson in Anger · 202. Brave But Foolish · 203. Quittin' Time! · 204. Return of the Ice Emperor · 205. Safe Haven · 206. Compatible · 207. Distress Calls · 208. An Issue of Trust · 209. Dragon Form · 210. Roots
Ninjago NXT 1. Noodles · 2. Oldies · 3. Shadows · 4. Volcano · 5. The Party
Will you enter the Dream World? 1. I Just Had the Weirdest Dream · 2. I Just Had the Most Wonderful Dream · 3. I Just Had the Most Peculiar Dream · 4. I Just Had the Most Outrageous Dream
Ninjago - Dream Team (non-canon) Ninjago - Dream Team
Advertisement