By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)
On Teletoon Canada
Sundays 6:30am PST/ 9:30am EST
Spoiler Alert
The search for “The Storm Amulet” is on in Ninjago, Seabound. Everyone knows where it is and whether the heroes will get it or Kalamarr will has an amusing twist! Clutch Powers is back, and whether we should hate him for everything he’s done, this greedy miscreant is just that. He doesn’t have my respect. I like Ronan a lot more than him; he has his own code of honour whereas Powers doesn’t.
This ninth chapter is at a halfway point for the series. It’s merely spacing out the moments where bits of Ninjago History can be inserted. As much as I’d love to see a Mothra type creature appear, it won’t happen. I suspect that’s saved for another season. The return of the jungle tribe from The Island, protecting the gem and transfer of guardianship are just brief moments to show Nya has responsibilities. Whether she’s ready for it won’t be revealed until the season’s end.
It’s safe to say Benthomaar’s story of Nyad and the Whales foreshadows what’s still to come. We have a very compressed take and I believe a future episode will offer better detail. She’s the Merlopian who defeated Wojira and is regarded as the First Elemental Master to have merged with the Endless Sea. The implication I’m sensing is the fact the ocean is alive (similar to how it’s regarded in Disney’s Moana).
If there’s any deeper meaning, I suspect whatever the larger arc is with the main elements–and who wants the Vengestone–only time will tell. Only an enemy would want this elemental neutralizing crystal. If my suspicion of Nya is to become a goddess, those rocks will do squat! That is, to become something greater than an elemental master will establish them at demigods in Ninjago. Nya may well become a Calypso figure (like in Pirates of the Caribbean). While this responsibility is very different from Cole’s connection with the Earth, perhaps there’s something to be said about why the ocean is called the Endless Sea. We still don’t have proper representation for the fire and air elements, and the series would get too formulaic if it has to continue down this route. Hopefully a bit of change is planned.
At least “The Riddle of the Sphinx” is an episode that has viewers thinking. The puzzle Kai, Cole, and Wu are challenged with concerns life and death. It asks, “Give me food, and I will live. Give me water, and I will die. Who am I?” The answer may well hint at another season where the very nature of fire is examined. The flame can sometimes symbolize anger and hate. Water is often reflective of a calming state. I found this segment to represent a puzzle piece to a grander design for the series. It’s merely another chapter leading up to the eventual fight between Kalmaar’s forces and the Ninjas.
A bolder question is in how Nya, Mara, Jay, Lloyd and Zane can leave The Island. They got there on a damaged ship to prevent the storm crystal from being stolen, but they were tricked. They can’t go home either since it’s beyond repair. This water ninja has a lot more to accomplish before being able to restore her power, and apparently it includes learning how to communicate with sea life if she’s to make any waves in the team’s attempt to stop Kalmaar.
To be continued.
Honor seems like a strong word to apply to Ronin in my opinion. What good things he’s done in the series previously seem to have been motivated more by a somewhat creepy soft spot for Nya than any genuine conscience. His turning on the Ninja in season six so soon after supposedly befriending them in season five was particularly despicable. Plus, the guy hunted them down partly to get his criminal record wiped clean, yet before the season’s even out he’s already done something bad enough to get arrested by the Commissioner.
As if planning to steal scrap from Ed and Edna, who are literally the most saintly characters in the entire series, in Day of the Departed wasn’t bad enough, then there’s “The Island”. Ronin takes a bunch of escaped criminals and employs them as part of a scheme to extort the Keepers of the Amulet for literally everything they’ve got. I don’t know if he just gave up on any pretense of morality once Nya and Jay got engaged or whatever you’d call it in March of the Oni, but I can’t honestly say I’m surprised. Clutch is a piece of work, sure, but at least he’s not as two-faced as his predecessor scoundrel.
There certainly does seem to be an elemental thread that’s been running through every other season of the past few. It would be interesting to see Wind get touched upon, given that it is apparently associated with Wojira just like Water. It will be interesting to see how the whole thing plays out with whoever is buying vengestone
After all that I’ve learned from Shakespeare, I believe in the proverb that there’s honour among thieves. It’s exists (and can be used as a literary device) for a reason, and there is the opposite term to which people can choose to favour or another, and to each their own.
Ronin would have to do something that’s a complete opposite down the road to redeem himself, but who knows–maybe he can steal the Vengestone for his own purposes and it inadvertently saves the Ninjas (allowing him to flee the scene) when concerning the mysterious person wanting to use it against the warriors black, white, red, and blue on a permanent basis.