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“Look at yourselves! You've gone soft. You do nothing all day, but play video games, and eat cake. And soak in this… this…”
Wu scolding the ninja

Wasted True Potential is the first episode of the eleventh season of Ninjago and the 99th episode overall. It aired on June 22, 2019, in the United States. It was paired up with "Questing for Quests."

It was originally scheduled to be released in Canada on May 11, 2019, but was removed and rescheduled for August 10, 2019. A trailer featuring incomplete color grading not meant for public viewing was mistakenly released by Teletoon on April 30, 2019, but was taken down shortly after.

Synopsis[]

In the wake of their previous season's victory, the ninja have gone soft and Master Wu must remind them of who they truly are.[1]

Extended: Having grown complacent in the wake of their victory over the Oni, the ninja are enjoying life, playing video-games, sleeping in, and soaking in a hot tub (fashioned from one of the monastery's enormous bells). Unfortunately, this behavior quickly grows tiresome and the ninja are confronted by Master Wu, who accuses them of not taking their duties seriously. The ninja deny this, and Wu decides to put them to the test with a series of booby-traps and pranks intended to test their reflexes and skills. Among the more dangerous challenges, the ninja must catch a dangerous breed of chicken that grows wild in the hills surrounding the monastery. Put to shame by the chicken, the ninja ultimately realize: Wu is right. They have gone soft. They decide to take on a new quest to get back in ninja-shape.[2]

Plot[]

The episode begins with a dream, where a sleeping Zane wakes up to be confronted by Aspheera and is ultimately knocked out.

He then sees another, larger Serpentine wreaking havoc in Ninjago City and sees a frozen palace. He sees a vision of a man with familiar glowing eyes and clad in samurai armor sitting on a throne, and then a legion of Pyro Vipers marching through Ninjago City terrorizing the people. He then sees an Ice Dragon freeze over a small village, freezing several people solid, including the other ninja, lastly focusing on Jay. When Zane wakes up, he finds Jay is next to his bed. Zane attempts to tell Jay about his dream, but Jay laughs about it, thinking it was just a nightmare. Jay is not moved by Zane’s last dreams coming true. Instead, he shifts the conversation to Cole, who is about to beat Zane's record in Lava Zombies.

Meanwhile, back in the game room, Cole is watched by Kai, Nya, and Lloyd who all see Cole beat Zane's record. Once Jay and Zane arrive, the ninja realized they have spent too much time with video games and decide to relax in a hot tub.

As the ninja relax in their hot tub, they spot an angry Master Wu who criticizes them for being lazy once again, especially since their hot tub was made out of a sacred bell. The ninja attempt to come up with excuses, but this makes Wu even more upset and demands a meeting at the Monastery of Spinjitzu.

Inside the monastery, Wu continues to criticize the ninja of their laziness and tells a story of monks who eventually became ninjas. In the process of becoming a ninja, the monks had to pass a test that involved withstanding some time with an electric chicken. Wu did the same thing for the ninja for them to prove their courage. Once the chicken was released, it attacks the ninja using its lighting power. The ninja barely managed to trap the chicken, but Wu warned them of upcoming plans to prove their courage.

As the day proceeds, the ninja were utterly unable to see through traps Wu had set including trap doors, darts, and being stuck on top of the monastery. By the next day, the ninja were tired and humiliated by how Wu had completely eluded them with the traps and decide to compromise with Wu to see if there are other ways to prove their courage.

Screenshotter--NEW111-10’40”

The ninja defeated by Master Wu

The ninja find Wu in the courtyards and ask if there are other ways to prove their courage. Wu decides to make an exception and allow the ninja to fight him. Despite Wu being outnumbered, he still soundly defeated all the ninja due to their lack of training over the past month with pure skill despite their usage of their powers. Wu then unleashes his chicken upon the ninja to punish them for failure as they realize the truth of Wu's words and they scream as they are electrocuted.

Appearances[]

Characters[]

Cast[]

Non-speaking[]

Mentioned[]

Miscellaneous[]

Creatures[]

Events[]

Items[]

Vehicles[]

Locations[]

Species[]

Transcript[]

For the transcript of the episode, click here.

Trivia[]

  • Narrator: Wu
    • This is the first episode since "Lost in Time" where Wu reads the title card.
  • The name of the episode is a pun on the term "wasted potential."
  • This episode is the first to be animated and produced by WildBrain.
    • This is also the first episode of the series to be produced only with an 11-minute runtime.
      • Ninjago: Decoded had eleven-minute episodes but was not part of the main series.
  • At the beginning of the episode, when the title is shown, a painting of a dragon is shown, with "Frost Dragon" written in Ninjargon on the side. This likely references Boreal and the second chapter of the season, the Ice Chapter.
    0DC7E3CF-590F-411B-97E3-CB082C139B9A

    "You Win!" in Ninjargon

  • When Cole was winning Lava Zombies, it said "You Win!" in Ninjargon, which is similar to how a player wins the dojo with the "You Win!" card in The LEGO Ninjago Movie Videogame.
    • On the top right corner, it said "SCORE: 09999" in Ninjargon.
  • The ninja's swimwear choices resemble their beachwear from "The Last Hope." This was done for consistency.[3]
  • When Wu fights the ninja on the roof of the monastery, for a moment his hat flies into the air and shows Wu's head, which is missing his black skullcap seen in previous episodes.[4] This is likely because characters are no longer shown with studs on their heads as of March of the Oni, so a covering for the top of Wu's head is no longer needed, animation-wise.
    • This is also seen in "The Prodigal Father,"[5] but in "The Real Fall," Wu has this skullcap again. This is presumably because was missing his hat for a longer time in the latter episode, so his skullcap may have been added back in order for him to look more normal.
    • Wu also did not have this skullcap in "King of Shadows".[6] This was probably because it was not yet created.
  • This is the first episode to use an existing episode title and add one adjective, the second is "The Real Fall".
    Wu eyes show vs

    A comparison of the focus on Wu's eyes in The LEGO Ninjago Movie and this episode

  • In Lloyd's and Wu's fight, a type of scene is used in which the screen narrows and shows the eyes of both opponents. A similar scene appeared in The LEGO Ninjago Movie, in a duel between Wu and Garmadon in the jungle.
  • The name of Lava Zombies may perhaps be foreshadowing the Pyro Vipers, as they too are mummified that are connected to the element of Fire.
  • This episode continues the trend of season premieres not having an intro sequence that was started by "The Invitation" and broken by "The Darkness Comes."
  • This is one of the few episodes to start before the title is said.

Continuity[]

  • The episode has a lot in common with "Rise of the Snakes," where the ninja show signs of laziness following a victory, with Wu having to snap them out of it.
  • Wu mentions the Oni's invasion was months ago, showing a significant amount of time has passed.
  • Zane has a dream about Aspheera and her Pyro Vipers as well as the Ice Emperor in the Never-Realm.
  • An image of Resistance robe Zane can be seen in a picture frame in Zane's room.
  • Zane mentions to Jay that his visions always come true, listing the examples of Titanium Dragon and the Green Ninja.
    • However, he has only had these two visions on screen until this episode.
  • Every time Wu lands a blow on the ninja, he says "fail" as in "Way of the Ninja" to how Kai failed his training.
  • This is the third episode to start with one of Zane's dreams. The first two were "Never Trust a Snake" and "Versus."
  • The montage of Wu's traps uses the "Day Jobs" soundtrack originally composed for "Darkness Shall Rise."
  • All six ninja have show recreational outfits for the first time, as seen in the "hot tub" sequences:
    • Kai, Lloyd and Cole wear colored trunks with patterned details;
    • Jay wears an old-style men's bathing suit with stripes;
    • Zane wears a black wetsuit with cyan lines;
    • Nya wears a black one-piece with blue highlights.

Errors[]

  • Wu says after every great victory, the ninja become careless. This is actually incorrect because there are many instances in which the ninja do not become lazy:
  • In the close up of Wu before he says "IT'S NOT A HOT TUB!" he is shown without his cape.
  • When Lloyd jumps onto the roof to face Wu with his golden sword, his shoulder armor can be seen for a brief moment before it is gone again.
  • When Zane gets thrown into the air, his voice is his non-titanium voice.
  • When Kai gets thrown after attempting to attack Wu, he screams with Jay's voice.
  • When Lloyd dodge the roof tiles being thrown by Wu, the tassel on his sword isn't moving.
  • Although Lloyd does not have his sword during the entire fight with Wu, just as the other ninja do not have their weapons, as soon as he remains last, the sword appears on his back.
  • Towards the end of the episode in the close up shot of Cole, and Jay the roof tiles disappear, but reappear in the next shot but appear to be slightly closer to each other than earlier before.

Videos[]

Gallery[]

For the gallery of the episode, click here.

Translations[]

Language Name
Dutch Verwaarloosde capaciteiten
German Faule Ninja
Italian Vero potenziale sprecato
Japanese たるんどる!修行を怠るな
Polish Zagubiony potencjał
Spanish Potencial desperdiciado

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 mini-movies (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
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