“It was her. The power inside my mother, it was the Spinjitzu Burst. It was all her.” “Alas, you're not half the warrior your mother was.” “Maybe not, but I am her son. And I made her a promise to stand up to tyrants like you. Always!”
The Son of Lilly is the sixteenth and final episode of the thirteenth season, and the 160th episode overall of LEGO Ninjago. It aired on July 24, 2020, in Australia. It aired in the US on October 25, 2020, paired up with "The Upply Strike Back!."
Extended: As Cole and the Skull Sorcerer face off, the Geckles and Munce storm the Keep. Plundar frees the ninja from their cages and the ninja join the battle. Vania arrives leading the winged Shintaro Guards. The Skull Sorcerer destroys the supposedly "fabled" magical Blades, revealed to be nothing more than ordinary swords. Grief-Bringer awakens and joins the fight, and all looks lost.
Plot
Cole faced off with the Skull Sorcerer and putting all his faith in the Blades of Deliverance, he attacks the Sorcerer who claims the blades have no power. Meanwhile, the ninja, Geckles, Munce, and Upply fought off the Awakened Warriors and Grief-Bringer but were soon overpowered by the skeletons. The Skull Sorcerer knocks the Blades off the edge and Cole manages to grab them. The Skull Sorcerer continues to fight Cole until he used the Skull of Hazza D'ur to destroy the two Blades, leaving Cole shocked that there really was nothing special about them. When all hope seems lost, Vania flies in leading the Winged Guards of Shintaro.
The Skull Sorcerer tells Cole that Vania is not about to save him before proceeding to continually blast Cole with the Skull of Hazza D'ur and tells him to give up. Cole, who by now has given up, has a flashback about his promise to his mother before she died and then realizes that it wasn't the blades that made Lilly powerful, it was the power inside her. With this knowledge, he unlocks the Spinjitzu Burst and destroys the Skull, leaving the Awakened Warriors and Grief-Bringer as piles of bones, while also taking away the Skull Sorcerer's powers and turning him back into Vangelis, who kneels down and yields, asking for forgiveness but Cole refuses and tells him to ask the Geckles and Munce for forgiveness. From the looks of it, they don't accept his apology. He goes to Vania, who was beside him, and even though he denounced her as his daughter, tried to reason her to side with him, but she responds by telling Hailmar to take him away.
After that, Vania is crowned Queen of Shintaro, and the ninja decide it is time to go after a little while. As the sails of the Destiny's Bounty are being repaired, Lloyd apologizes to Vania for not trusting her, which she accepts. Once Jay says goodbye to Murtessa and Cole begins to part ways with the Upply, Vania asks Cole to stay for any future conflicts but Cole says that she is one of the bravest people he has met. Vania says goodbye and that if he needs any help, she will send all of the guards to for assistance. As the group leaves on the Bounty, Lloyd decides to return home, but Wu tells them to head onward. Nya asks him where, and Wu responds wherever the wind takes them. After Zane questions what Wu meant, Kai and Nya says that they're about to go on another adventure, which Zane agrees with.
Cole unlocking his Spinjitzu Burst is somewhat the inverse of his True Potential in "The Royal Blacksmiths". In "The Royal Blacksmiths", Cole unlocked his True Potential when his father accepted him for not following in the family's footsteps, while Cole unlocked his Spinjitzu Burst in this episode by channeling his mother's power and legacy.
The ending of the episode was going to have the Geckles and Munce building a statue of Cole next to Lilly's in the Heart of the Mountain, but it was cut due to running time.[1]
Bragi Schut stated that a statue of Cole was built, as far as he's concerned.[2]
This is the last episode to air before Kirby Morrow's death on November 18, 2020.
Errors
Gulch was briefly seen with his sash when Murtessa said "In the name of Milly!", even though he wasn't supposed to be wearing it until after Vangelis' defeat.
This marks the third episode where Gulch was seen with his sash even though he wasn't chancellor at the time. The first two episodes being "The Darkest Hour" and "The Upply Strike Back!."
When Hailmar crowned Vania as the new ruler of Shintaro, part of the Shintaro Wings on Vania's back can be seen being white instead of gold.