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Spoiler Alert
Sometimes these small chapters in Ninjago Seabound are simply teasers. “The Calm Before the Storm” shows how far Jay and Nya’s relationship progressed. It’s easy to realize that something will separate these two when considering how truly yin and yang they’ve become. The future Jay saw in the Ice Labyrinth (“Grave Danger”) may well be in trouble unless the plan mapped out for the series has a solution.
True to the legend, Wojira is an embodiment of a tempestuous sea and he looks just as fierce as Godzilla! The carnage reminds me of the Tōhoku tsunami of 2011 and it may well be intentional. Even the minted King Kalmaar has trouble controlling her. One fact is certain, he needs the beast to drench the surface world if he’s to rule over it. Thankfully, not every Merlopian agrees with this warlord’s edict.
I don’t think Glutinous, the right-hand man to Kalmaar, is the only one who’ve seen the light. I’m liking this guy because he’s played up like Igor from the Frankenstein films. These type of characters makes the series fun. They’re always around, especially when the Black Bounty was taken over by Lord Garmadon and Nadakhan. They each had their respective “fool.” If the producers ever decide to branch this series out, I’d love to see these court jesters have their time to shine.
This episode and the next, “Assault on Ninjago City,” can easily be combined. The Ninjas do more work evacuating and saving lives as the city is getting destroyed yet again. Dareth, The Brown Ninja, finally gets a chance to be a level-headed hero, even though he still needs help.
Nya and the team have to face Kalmaar and Wojira. This serpentine looks great as she’s not entirely made of LEGO pieces. She’s intelligent and I suspect she doesn’t like being a tool of Kalmaar’s. The set, Temple of the Endless Sea (due to be out this Summer) to note, imagines half of her with proper bricks (and looking just as mean) and I wonder if a complete build can be crafted. The ultimate cliffhanger is when the water ninja and the serpent have to tangle. We have a similar shot of Nya and Kalmaar/Wojira about to fight each other. It’s just like how Cole challenged the Skull Sorcerer. This final frame only affirms that this season and last are part of a build-up of a grander arc.
The (remaining) Elemental Masters will have to unite to deal with a foe yet to be introduced (or brought back). As kilmarnock228, a regular reader to Otakunoculture.com, and I have discussed, the unknown buyer of the Vengestones will have to be addressed. This object is very useful to stop ghosts, dragons and elemental users.
I’d like to see Garmadon return, but I feel his time is over. From being infected with hate to redemption to pure evil to realizing the scales of balance can never be tipped, there’s really nothing more to explore. He simply walked away after March of the Oni. I believe any desire for him to rule has been deflated.
The Jaya scene was definitely a moment of foreboding. It’s like “oh no, there’s no way they’d do a moment like this if something bad weren’t going to happen soon.” Glutinous is an amusing character, and it’s kind of sad he didn’t get much focus this season. Of course, at least he has a minifigure version, which is more than can be said for Gripe. Dareth’s return was nice, especially since he’s actually showing some competence in addition to his golden comedy relief. Man, where’s the tenth anniversary Golden Dareth figure?
Yeah, if Garmadon returns, I doubt it will be as an antagonist. It seems more likely that we’d see him come back as an uneasy ally of the Ninja once more, dealing with some threat great enough to coax him out of hiding. Honestly, it’d be kind of cool to see a situation where the Ninja team is left unable to act whether by capture or some other incident, only for Garmadon to return to their aid. I wouldn’t object to some other reformed antagonists like the Serpentine, Sensei Yang, or Unagami getting in on the action either. In any event, it would be nice to see a true resolution to Garmadon’s character, whether it’s returning to his Sensei form or even returning to the Departed Realm, perhaps in an act of heroic sacrifice.