#like of course the previous. 40 chapters can be broken down in smaller arcs

[yume-fanfare]

it was a good chapter!!! interesting build up gorgeous people and gorgeous art, lovely

[agenericplaceholdername]

I spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out how DR's side characters might differ from the original show. I think what it might be is that most Ninjago seasons followed a pattern of introducing a side character relatively early on as a (potential) Ninja ally and then having them work with the Ninja/help one of them with their character arc/have an arc themselves and are present throughout the rest of the season. Lloyd in S1, Misako in the latter half of S2, PIXAL in S3, Skylor in S4, Ronin in S5, Harumi in S8 (until the twist), Faith in S9, Garmadon in S10, Akita in the Ice Chapter, Vania in S13, Twitchy Tim in The Island, and Bentho in S14. Interestingly, the seasons that didn't do this -- S6, S7, the Fire Chapter, S12, and S15 -- all tend to be seen as worse seasons. Granted, that's for other reasons in all these cases, and they're not necessarily worse, but it's just something interesting.

Dragons Rising S1 doesn't do this, probably because it's trying to establish new characters. The roster of recurring characters is larger that Lloyd, Arin, and Sora, but I don't think you can call Kai, Nya, Zane, and Wyldfyre side characters in the same way as these previous examples are. Being a ninja seems to inoculate characters from side character status. The real side characters are Euphrasia, Percival, Frohicky, Arrakore, and Geo. All of them have their own character stories and arcs, but Euphrasia, Arrakore, and Geo are all one episode wonders and don't reappear in the season.

On the other hand, Dragons Rising S2 does follow the original side character route for the most part, as long as you treat the two parts of the season separately (which is how they come off anyway). Rontu, Egalt, Bonzle, Gandalaria, Roby, and Frak all fall into the mold of characters that follow along with the Ninja for a prolonged period of time. The difference is, only Egalt and Frak really have character arcs. Bonzle has a ton of character development but I wouldn't really call it an arc.

So if a character needs to feature in multiple episodes and have an arc, then DR just has Frohicky, Percival, Egalt, and Frak over the course of 40 episodes. Personally, I like a lot of the DR side characters, regardless of their smaller screen time. Meeting Euphrasia and Arrakore is important for Sora's arc in S1, Geo's just a solid guy who helps Sora and Cole's characters, I think the Rontu/Egalt dichotomy is fun, Bonzle is a solid character and I really like the Wyldfyre & Egalt stuff. Interested to see more of Frak. That being said, how side characters function structurally in DR is definitely different than the original show, and maybe it's harder to have strong thoughts on characters who are less present or don't have arcs. Would love to hear your thoughts on some of the reoccurring side villains -- Dorama, Rapton, Cinder, Jordana. Personally super interested in Jordana's story post-S2.

The mini-cliffhangers seem like they're written for a version of DR that releases weekly. I do not understand why they exist in a show that drops in batches on Netflix. And even when Ninjago released weekly I don't think episodes ended like this so who knows.

I think we just disagree on Sora's story in S1. Is it cliche? Absolutely. Is it boring, messy, and not cohesive? Didn't come off that way to me. I think there's a pretty clear through line of her being pessimistic, not accepting she has powers, messing up and not wanting to use them, and then from E5 onward learning to be more optimistic and accepting the responsibility of her powers. She still has underlying trauma related to her childhood in Imperium and thinks of herself as unworthy and "broken," something the final stretch of S1 resolves when she fights Dr. LaRow, brings down Beatrix's regime, and stands up to her parents. I'm a big fan.

Lloyd's S2 arc is definitely worse, but I don't think the idea of intrusive visions as an allegory for anxiety is inherently wrong, especially when those visions are explicitly stated to not necessarily come true (and they don't -- from subtle differences to Lloyd just not losing to Zeatrix as he thought he would). There is development there -- how Lloyd handles stress is different by the end of S2. It does fall into the category of "well-intentioned but flawed" that a lot of Ninjago stories do though.

We haven't talked about Arin's character, but I think the longer story arcs really help him because you get this slow burn as things just pile up. The scene with everyone using their elemental powered grappling hooks while he watches? Love it. They do repeat some points a little too much but the steady loss of trust in the Ninja is tragic. Obviously they still could mess it up but I like what we've got so far.

It's totally fair to care more about the Merge than the characters. I just think that when it comes to storytelling promises that were kept/broken, the story is just not designed to go into the details of the nature of the Merge. The story about Imperium isn't a distraction from the "real story," it is the real story. Where the Merge sent people and why it happened is a good question, but we don't spend enough time on it that it seems like there's story setup that is unnecessarily dragged out. It's just something to keep in mind in the background. Instead, we focus on how the Merge impacted the characters that are still around -- Lloyd, Arin, and Sora (and later the bulk of the original crew + Wyldfyre). We'll get to the full merge lore stuff in a season (or four) so if it's not a satisfying explanation, that'll be really disappointing, but for now I can wait.

You're right that most of the Oni Trilogy "plot holes" are small questions -- I wouldn't call them plot holes because they're not necessarily contradicting anything -- but "what happened to the Oni" is an important question Hunted asks and we never get the answer beyond Garmadon's allusion to a darkness in the Departed Realm. I guess they just died then (and escaped somehow? I would say though the Realm Crystal but I doubt that can access the Departed Realm. Totally unrelated though).

I agree that most of the DR setups that have been followed through are not big questions. That was more to show that it's not like mysteries or story threads are just being piled up with no payoff.

I think whether not answering what caused the Merge is "avoiding the question" comes down to the answer and what the big picture plot of DR is. If it turns out that the Merge was part of some intricate cosmic chess game involving Ras' master, who turns out to be the big bad of DR, it'll make sense why they didn't (and couldn't) reveal it in S1 or S2. You wouldn't reveal the murderer in chapter 2 of Christie novel for the same reason. On the other hand, if it's a smaller detail (like the murder weapon), then it'll make far less sense. I agree with your Cole point 100% because in narrative the protagonists know something we don't, and if it was a big secret that we're not ready to learn, then the protagonists shouldn't know it either.

Thanks for clarifying about the tags -- still new to this so I'm trying to figure out the unspoken norms here. I agree Seabound isn't about Merlopia. It wouldn't necessarily be a better season if we learned about Kalmaar's life in school, or where Bentho came from. But S1 is about Imperium as it relates to one of our protagonists. It's not just the origin of our main antagonists -- the society itself is an antagonist, which is something we haven't seen in Ninjago before. Are technologically advanced dystopias that restrict individual expression overdone in media? Absolutely. Are they overdone in Ninjago? Not really. And it's not just copy-pasted Hunger Games -- the "mindless beasts" thing is relevant and called back well, the social ostracization of Imperium defines Sora's character and is relevant to her relationship with Jordana, the dragon hunter aesthetic is cool (though not unique to Ninjago).

I think at the end of the day, I like the character stories of DR and am therefore more inclined to look favorably on other aspects of the show and give the mysteries and lore stuff more time. Maybe the side character stuff just comes down to character vibe and not story structure. I think we probably agree on a lot of things directionally (liking Sora's S2 story and Kai and Wyldfyre's dynamic, among others, while disliking some of the writing choices and wishing they'd settle on some big mysteries while resolving some of the needless ones like Cole's journey) but I'm just slightly shifted more towards the "I like it" side of the spectrum on most points.

Okay, everyone get in the comments and let me know why you love dragons rising so that maybe I can reverse engineer why I don't-