#ninjago gong of shattering

[toastingpencils37]

Something about the Wolf Warriors that bothers me a lot (In a good "what the hell is going on" way) is the fact that they have very human actions. (To the point where one of them fucking LAUGHS)

And we know the wolf masks worn while the gong is hit shatters the soul.

Yet when Cinder rips the mask off that one warrior, it is made damn sure that we can't see their face, adding to the confusion of if they're truly human or not.

[user-without-a-cool-acronym]

Bell of Peace/Gong of shattering

[nyaskitten]

Welp! I guess we have the names for episodes 1 and 2 of Dragons Rising season 2! And we might get them early, in German of course! This is so... soooo.... it's something Alright!!!

(Source)

[crappyyuki]

More Lego Ninjago!

This man has me on a choke hold.

Like. I started this just after the other post and finished in 2 hours. 2 HOURS. Its a miracle. My average is around 5 hours XDDD

Spoilers!

Anyway. Its his time to shine. As a father mentor to his daughter a feral child. And be the badass ninja that he is.

But also he dumb because he is so dumb.

I love him so much. He is so my fav.

I love the sketch too. I couldn't capture its essence during the rendering stage so imma just—

Mwah. I love it so much. Idk how I pulled it off. It came outta nowhere omg.

I love Kai. Hope to see more content of him.

And his trauma on Nether Space omg gimme the details. SPILL THE TEA GOSH DAMMIT! Did he get depresso cuz he's told he's trapped there for eternity but no expresso cuz he has to keep the bravado for his amigo Bonzle?

(Idk where that came from.)

Pls share ideas my god. I might draw them. Or write. Or cry. Idk. Whatever comes first.

Give the fire big bro some love pls. He deserves it. He's been sidelined for so long oh my god you have no idea. Its so disheartening cuz he was the protagonist on the beginning and has been for a long time in my eyes. He deserves some screen time and main character energy.

Like he had such a main character energy when he came back. That entrance was FIRE and that line was COLD. He is so cool. Gosh.

(Let him collapse pls. Nether Space should not be good for a not shattered soul like him. Like, did his soul shatter when he was sucked into the portal? If so, what are the effects? I have so many questions.)

(Also also I'm so curious to what happens when you forcefully shatter someone's goodness with the gong of shattering. If that's a thing, PLS DO IT TO KAI PLS. HE DESERVES A VILLAIN ARC!

LET HIM FIGHT HIS FAMILY.

MAKE THEM SUFFER.)

I love Kai man. You have no idea.

[rere9500-18]

Ninjago Dragons Rising !!SPOILERS!! (Idk how to do the ‘Read more’ cut thing on mobile, sooo)

It’s just..

Even when they were younger, Nya’s always been protective of Jay when she had to be. She was there when he needed her, even in the most dire times.

So, to see Jay acting like this.. knowing this isn’t like Jay at all, harms her more than anyone will ever know. Because she knows her best friend like she knows herself. Jay’s changed.. and Nya isn’t sure if it’s due to the Merge or due to Ras.

Even when Nya won, you know she felt terrible. Because like Lloyd said, they may have won the battle, but they lost Jay in the process. He still put that forsaken mask on and now, they have no idea if he’s even THERE anymore. Not even a small fraction of him.

The Ninja got to see their brother again.. but at what cost? Because will they ever truly see the real him again?

Just.. one more thing.

“Which we will, right?? Jay needs us. Not only has he lost his memories, he used the Gong of Shattering. We have to find a way to heal his inner goodness. We have to save him.” … “Before everything changed, Master Wu told me only unity can save us. Without Jay, we aren’t united.” -Nya, after being told that Ras wants them to follow Jay to get them out of the tournament

The way Nya valued her friendship with Jay more than a tournament will always be on my mind. Forever.

[grilledcheese-savage]

Ninjago Dr spoilers

Ok does anyone else feel like there’s been some lost potential for shattered Kai sora and wyldfire? They were wearing the wolf masks when the gong went off, and the only consequence was it being kinda stuck to their face 😭😭😭 I want evil Kai. I want Jay to wear it and get evil. And shatterspin.

Also that was technically a plot hole since only I shattered people get sacrificed or something. Idk it was weird

[w1r3z]

Realized that the symbol on the Gong of Shattering for the Wolf Temple set is a piece that was used in many Early Ninjago Spinner sets. Considering how important the gong itself seems to be, maybe it has something to do with Spinjitzu?

[destinygoldenstar]

Ninjago Dragons Rising Season 2 - Is It Good Or Nah?

So, I'm late to the party, aren't I?

Well I've had so much work that I think I'm having an existential crisis. So I had to wait till I had a free day to watch this season because I wanted to watch it with my GF.

We got to Episode 6, and then what did my boss do?

Slap me in the face with long work hours several days of the week.

I feel like I'm in a spiral of work after work after work with no purpose to life besides failure cause I can't trust myself to be capable at anything-

ANYWAY. We finished it now.

You know what the insane part about the season is? That it got the show trending on Tumblr.

That's an INSANE level of hype right there.

So I seriously had to ask myself "What the actual f**k happened in the show that caused THIS much hype?!"

So... here are my thoughts on the season.

SPOILER WARNING

Okay, so this may be a factor of my judgement, but due to my schedule, I was forced to watch only 6 Episodes one day, and then the last 4 Episodes today. Keep that in mind.

When it came to the first half of the season, was it good?

Yes. Obviously.

Was it living up to the insane level of hype?

Uh... not really for me??

Now, don't take that as a negative. This season is still REALLY good.

After the first season took awhile to get started as it needed to set up its characters and this new world, it makes sense for this season to throw the punches immediately.

The season gets started with its main plot right away with Ras immediately putting his plan into action, and by Episode 2, it's very clear the threat level he opposes and it's believable that we should be intimidated by what he wants.

Even though in Episode 2's fight, while AMAZINGLY choreographed, I was just screaming at the screen "HIT THE PERSON HOLDING THE GONG."

Like seriously, more than one of the characters in this fight can use projectiles with their powers AND they have a blaster in the Bounty, and the show never says that Ras has some sort of armor defense preventing him from getting blasted. He's literally standing out in the open. And the gong is clearly what's giving Cinder power. So HIT THE PERSON WITH THE GONG.

GOSH.

Anyway, that's not important. What's important is that this season's fight choreo is genuinely AMAZING. I am obsessed with the way the camera moves with the characters in these fights you have no idea. I was genuinely blown away by the last episode's fight in particular. But more on the ending later.

What also shocked me was how BRUTAL some of the stuff that happens here is, which caught me off guard.

I mean, Episode 2 has Euphrasia getting ambushed and crashed off the Cloud Kingdom with clear injuries, and Wyldfyre getting her leg SHATTERED. Like, WHAT?! HOW OFTEN DOES THAT HAPPEN?!! (Even though the latter's healing was unrealistic. Like, it would realistically take months for an injury like that to heal. Not a critique, just saying.)

Ras body slams Jordanna at one point. He puts Arin in a CHOKEHOLD. And also beats him up so brutally... like OMG this guy does not mess around.

The Fear Cave Trial also REALLY got me tripping. Not only was it such a visually appealing moment, but it also, as the same suggests, showed several character psyches that were insane.

Except Kai for some reason. That's gonna drive me NUTS until I get an answer. WHAT DID HE SEE-?!

Then we get to the dragon mentors, and...

Yeah the season kinda loses me in the middle.

Don't get me wrong, I love the character bits here as much as anyone. But with how dyer they made the threat of Ras before, Ras and his forces take a backseat in the middle portion of the season and we're mostly just sitting at these training grounds talking. And for four episodes of it? It's a little grating, even if it is important.

The middle is mostly where most of my issues with the season stand. And here's where I get all my negatives out of the way:

Like I said, because this season is so long, there's an awkward pause in the conflict on the dragons plotline to learn this Rising Dragon Technique. Which I wouldn't mind if it wasn't FOUR EPISODES of it.

With the exception of the attack at the Land of Lost Things ONCE, Ras's army doesn't go after the ninja at all. I can kinda get the dragons group since they didn't have Bonzle, but he has to know that they ARE a threat, right? They're obviously trying to figure out how to stop you.

And even with the group that has Bonzle, what they NEED, the forces that go after that group is the Administration and the one off magician man villain, the former really didn't need to be in this season even if it was for a compelling Jay cameo, and the latter has overstayed his welcome at this point and I just rolled my eyes when he showed up on screen.

I'm all for Cole being a badass as much as the next guy, but WHY this magician man, who at this point, is so disconnected with the main antagonistic forces that he serves no purpose?

Why not, I don't know, use this screen time instead to explain what in the world happened with Cole when he left?

Seriously, the first season had this huge cliffhanger with Cole's character and him going after Wu's ghost. I wonder what's gonna happen to him and what he's gonna find out-

Oh. He's just back.

That to me is a huge disappointment. What was the point of him leaving the Lost Family in the first place if this journey was basically nothing? He doesn't even talk about it! COME ON NOW.

Also I think Zane should get slay pass on the Administration guy that called him equipment. What do y'all think?

I don't like Egot. Or whatever his name was. He's very condescending and cryptic and talks down to his only hope of the world being saved. But I think I'm supposed to dislike him for it, and there's gonna be more of his characterization revealed later, so don't take this one as a critique. The female one is great though.

The sorceress lady was... a choice in the narrative. My one critique for the ending was the potion shenanigans. Not because they were bad, but because they just felt so out of place among everything else. Like, "Oh, this finale is too dark and intense! We need to occasionally cut to wacky shenanigans with this sorceress's magic to prevent kids from feeling too much dread!"

I don't know, for me, I would've placed this stuff with the Administration instead, and instead have the group fight Jordanna, lose, and have her get away and flow that to Arin getting to her. Especially since the Administration posed such little threat to them and they even say such.

(I also have a theory that this sorceress is Wyldfyre's birth mom. I have no evidence to back this up besides "They both have red hair and similar facial structure")

With Cloud Kingdom getting taken over and Euphrasia captured, I thought she would have more of a role to play in this since this is, you know, her HOME and she's their guardian.

But nope. She does next to nothing up until the very end and plays prisoner and waits for the ninja to save her.

For gosh sake girl, you're the master of wind. FLY.

And finally, my last critique, Cinder.

Yeah I'm sorry, I'm not buying this character so far. Not that I don't think he'll have anything to do in the second part, but for how threatening he was in Episode 2, that threat level kinda vanishes in the middle and only comes back at the end. He does next to nothing and we learn nothing about him other than "He likes power". Jordanna is probably more unlikeable, but at least she has conflict going on with Ras and her magic, and she still serves more of a role in the plan besides being a foot soldier.

And... yep. That's all my critiques for this season. Which all seem pretty minor.

You know what this season is real good at? Characters.

As though that wasn't obvious already.

I did NOT expect Bonzle to play any major role at all, I thought she was just gonna be the dry and cynical side character. But no. She has a history. She has a life. She has emotions. All of which REALLY shine through at the end when you hear her voice have more range in it. The VA killed it. I ended up feeling so bad for her.

Especially considering what happens to her.

They're also not even hiding it anymore with Geo x Cole. They're just NOT. I love them and I hope we see more of their relationship in the future.

I genuinely don't understand the critique of "Geo is so selfish referring to him as Cole's family when it's obvious Cole has other people in his life."

Well no shit, you ever heard of a character flaw?

But it's also a completely understandable flaw. You guys aren't forgetting the part where Geo was abandoned for being a mixed race, right? Of course he's gonna cling to someone as compassionate and encouraging as Cole.

The Jay cameo was nice. I expect him to play no role in this season, but it's really compelling what they showed and I was satisfied with it.

Lloyd's conflict was handled very well in my opinion.

What's it called when it's PTSD, but it's about future events rather than past events? Foresight Traumatic Stress Disorder? FTSD? Yeah let's go with that.

For a kids show that glosses over trauma, (That's not a Ninjago problem, that's a kids show problem), it was really refreshing for them to not do that for once. It's actually explored and talked about and Lloyd is given advice on how to cope with it, and he freezes up in panic attacks when these visions happen and-THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR NOT IGNORING HOW HARD SOMETHING LIKE THIS IS.

Seriously, as someone who is going through stuff like this, minus the magic element, it spoke to me a lot. It really shows that this show grew up with me, and I both love and hate that.

I do think this sort of arc is going to hit hard for adults much more than kids.

Are kids constantly terrified of the future and getting paralyzed with these fears and finding it difficult to cope with the traumas that is time and human life?

No?

Kai is also a standout in this, especially towards the end. This is by far the best Kai has been in a long time in terms of quality. I love how one of his most significant flaws gets addressed here, that being his overreliance on himself and his own abilities over the others, who he feels responsible to protect.

And the way he grasps with that and learns to let loose like he did as a child back in the old days through what he loves the most, that being his family. And the flashbacks with him and his sister. And the whole sequence of him learning Rising Dragon - AUGH ITS SO GOOD.

How poetic is it that the character most devoted to family since childhood is only cocky and angry because of his own desire to be the one with power to keep them safe, gets power by letting that go, being a kid again, and joining the same roots as his own family?

AND THEN HE GIVES UP HIS LIFE FOR THEM-

And finally, Arin.

Oh you poor sweet, sweet child.

First of all, yes, I am completely subscribed to the theory that the show is building up Arin turning on the ninja and becoming a villain. It's all there. It all fits. The amount of times they say how sweet he is as though that's gonna get lost. The dragons, the creators of the world, the gods basically, telling him he's not good enough. Ras confronting him. Sora's stunt even after she's been the most encouraging of him, like the BETRAYAL there. It's all there. And I will be posting my theory scenario on this don't you worry.

BUT, I don't think that's the route they're gonna go. Kids show and all of that. They wouldn't do that to one of their main characters. Unless you're Star Wars. At most I think Arin will be tempted by Ras's master's power in an episode and even do it, but then with the power of love and friendship, it'll get fixed.

So instead I'd rather say that Arin, by far, has the BEST power crisis arc of the entire show so far.

I LOVE that he doesn't get powers. That's something the original show would've done. I LOVE that he doesn't figure anything out in the end and his inner doubts get proven correct. That's something the original show would not have the guts to do.

I liked Arin in the first season, but he didn't interest me too much. Mostly because Sora had the lion share of focus in the first season. Here though? He might just take the crown for THE most relatable character. And I both love and hate it so much.

Like, seeing everyone else succeed in mastery while you can't even figure out your own thing. You get told you have a natural talent and a lot of potential and that you're good at a lot of things, only for that to be put to the test in the real world and you end up letting everyone down. Even when your loved ones encourage you that you are good enough and you're special in your own way, you can't get those voices out of your head and you mess up again and again and again to try and meet the world's expectations. Then those in charge tell you you're not good enough and wasted potential. Then you try everything out in the real world anyway and you FAIL, and those that doubt you and your own insecurities get proven correct as you're left a broken mess of a young child who doesn't know what the hell they're doing-

I'M IN THIS SHOW AND I DON'T LIKE IT.

I probably love Sora more as a character, but I will admit I grasp towards Arin more right now. Sora's a great trans allegory in a world that hates trans people. But I'm not trans so I relate to it a bit less. Arin's a great autistic allegory in a world that doesn't know how to help autistic people. And I am autistic so I relate to it more. That's just a me situation.

I am so invested in where Arin's story goes from here. Evil or not.

So yeah, the season was good, but didn't completely live up to the insane hype, which, to be fair, is a high bar.

UNTIL THE LAST FOUR EPISODES.

And then all of a sudden, I AM SHOCKED AND SHAKEN TO MY CORE.

These last four episodes are an absolute emotional roller coaster that left me shaking and screaming the whole time.

I actually SCREAMED at multiple occasions.

I actually screamed so many times watching this that I am now HOARSE.

THAT'S how hard it hit me.

The story goes from 0 to 100 the moment the Blood Moon shows up. Which was what the whole season was building up to. And it did NOT disappoint.

The race to try and protect Bonzle. The intense visions and paralysis Lloyd suffers from. Ras and the army coming back to the plot to be absolute powerhouses. The last episode of DREAD the entire time to desperately try to stop this ritual.

HUMAN SACRIFICES?! AM I WATCHING A KIDS SHOW RIGHT NOW?!?!

I was begging for Arin to succeed at getting Bonzle to safety, even though I knew he stood no chance against Ras. "Come on Arin! You got this!! YOU GOT THIS, SWEETIE!!"

And then Ras just goes to TOWN on the poor boy and taunts his utter failure, which HURTS SO BAD MAN.

The entire fight with the army, Cinder, and Ras. The destruction of the mechs which knocks them unconscious for a bit. Kai figuring out Rising Dragon again when his family gets put in danger. The way Nya avenges her brother afterwards.

When Bonzle was getting morphed back into spell form, BEGGING, I was begging too.

But they still do it!

And KAI?!?!

I couldn't even process what happened other than me screaming. From the moment Ras alluded to sacrificing Kai against his consent, I was screaming "NO. DON'T DO IT."

AND THEN THEY SACRIFICE HIM.

LIKE HOLY GOSH THIS FINALE DID NOT MESS AROUND.

I predicted a while back, in the first season actually, that Kai was gonna get sacrificed at some point. Who's laughing now? I DID NOT WANT TO BE RIGHT.

Like, usually in Ninjago the character would be willing to sacrifice themselves for the others. But here? This is without Kai's consent at all. Ras might as well have killed him right here.

It definitely felt that way with the way the others react and BEG for his safety. The way Nya avenges him.

And Kai giving up his shot at escape for the sake of his family? BRO. WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

It hurts even more when you realize that when the Merge happened, Lloyd was ALONE thinking only he survived. He only gained hope again because of his reunion with Kai. His beloved surrogate brother!

AND NOW HE'S GONE.

NYA AND LLOYD LOST THEIR BROTHER.

WYLDFYRE LOST HER SURROGATE FATHER.

THEY THINK HE'S BASICALLY DEAD.

BRO. THAT'S SOUL CRUSHING.

And then Sora?! Why you gotta betray Arin like that?!

The most encouraging friend towards Arin, the person who held onto hope and praises for him the most, betrays that hope and doesn't trust him enough to get the winning blow himself. Then LIES about it.

GIRL. WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!

That's going to be SO compelling once that gets outed. Like, morally, that was messed up and she was definitely in the wrong, BUT it led to the best possible outcome for them at the moment. They WON because she did NOT believe in Arin's abilities. Which only proves that the doubts about Arin's said abilities are correct.

And I have a gut feeling she's gonna learn Spinjitsu on top of that. And once that happens... double ouch.

Again, Evil Arin Theory.

I really hate to say it, but this reminds way too much of Arcane. If you know what I'm talking about.

I am totally imagining a situation similar to that in my head, that being a rescue mission for Kai, they decide to leave Arin out of it because of the lack of faith in him, he tags along anyway and he ruins their plan and Kai stays trapped there, Lloyd and Sora lash out on him for it, and before they can apologize they get thrusted back by something and Ras and Ras's master find Arin and take him in-

Again, I'll make a post about that.

The finale was by far the best part of this season. It has been a long time since Ninjago has made me HOARSE from being too invested.

That has not happened to me since Sons of Garmadon.

Because, yeah, I actually have NO IDEA where any of this is headed. How are they gonna save Kai and Bonzle? Why did some of Lloyd's visions not come true? What in the world is going on with Ras? Will the Administration help with that? Will the source dragons help with that?

What I probably do know is that Part 2 of this season is going to turn this into the best Ninjago Product since Tournament of Elements. Maybe even top it depending on my rewatches if my problems are still problems.

So... yeah. Good or Nah? Good. Obviously.

The hype is a little overblown to me, but it still deserves the hype.

[mittenslikescats]

A review on someone else’s review on Lloyd in DRS2P1 (sorta rant)

This a bit long but I wanted to talk about this

I saw this video of a guy saying why he dislikes dragons rising (he was mainly talking about S2P1)and I feel like a lot of his points weren’t very good and I kinda wanna talk about what he said about Lloyd during season 2 part 1.

He talked about how Lloyd having the fear of not being a good enough leader was a good thing to have (which I can agree with), then he moves on to talk about the nightmares/visions he’s having and instead of adressing that Lloyd has an anxiety disorder in this season because of these visions/nightmares, he talks about how Lloyd needs to stop being a pathetic child and that because he’s the leader he can’t be weak. He ended up talking about how in season 2 of Ninjago Lloyd faced off against the overlord without showing any fear and now in Dragons rising he’s afraid of these visions and nightmares he’s having. It’s like this guy doesn’t take into account that Lloyd in dragons rising season 2 has gone through a lot more traumatic events compared to Lloyd way back in season 2 of the og show. Also just that Lloyd in season 2 clearly doesn’t have an anxiety disorder unlike in Dragons rising. Tbh I kinda noticed that he’s pretty biased towards the og Ninjago through the entire review.

Anyways

He’s constantly talking about how Lloyd needs to be a more confident and stronger leader and that he should ’stop whining’ about these visions that he’s having “The leader of the team shouldn’t be cowering because he has nightmares”. The thing that pisses me off about this is that this guy doesn’t acknowledge that these visions/nightmares have developed into an anxiety disorder. Like in the early episodes just seeing the wolf masks or hearing the gong of shattering triggered a panic attack (and if some people don’t realise that was a panic attack they literally mention it in like the next episode or smth) and saying that he needs to stop whining about these visions it’s like telling someone with depression to not be depressed. 

This guy during his review when talking about Lloyd’s character he fails to bring up that Lloyd’s suffering with anxiety and how that’s affecting his character not only internally but externally.

Like what do you want Lloyd to do about it? Just magically get rid of his anxiety disorder because apparently he’s acting too weak and pathetic? He acts like Lloyd’s completely incapable of doing things which is proven wrong in the season. It’s honestly quite fucked up how this guy views Lloyds fears and anxieties throughout the season by calling him ‘pathetic and weak’. It completely undermines what Lloyd is going through. It’s like Lloyds shown having a panic attack and this guy is complaining about him being weak. That’s honestly a pretty messed up view point. I get not liking the writing of a character but saying that Lloyd is pathetic and weak because of his anxiety is fucking baffling to me. It’s like he doesn’t take into consideration that Lloyd isn’t this flawless and perfect leader and saying that Lloyd suffering from panic attacks is making him whiny is complelty disregarding what Lloyd is going through that season. 

I could go on but it’s getting pretty late, but yeah I just wanted to talk about this cus it kinda pissed me off at how this guy viewed Lloyds mental health as him being a pathetic and weak leader.  

[llannasvsp]

Dragons Rising Season 2, Episode 2: Shattered Dreams

Before I start I just want to say that I don't know how long my little recap will take to finish because of my life schedule, but hopefully I'll get it done within a week. I share a TV with two other people so that puts a hold on my ability to rewatch.

Now lets begin!

Heyyy Cloud Kingdom!

Is the Master Writer destined to be a douche??

I also want bagels. ("Selecting a bagel." -Peter Parker; Into the Spider Verse, 2018).

I'm still so confused on how writing destiny works. Do they decide destiny? Do they not? I don't get it. Someone please help me.

EUPHRASIA YAAAAAAAS

Hey Imperium!

Percivallll I love youuuu yes you fix Imperium!

Euphrasia freaking dies.

"Then I wake up screaming." DO YOU WANT MY HEART TO FALL OUT??!

Lloyd is a braver man than I. I could never consume that tea.

Not Lloyd making a joke about his panic attack. Me too buddy.

I LOVE LLOYD. SO MUCH. YOU ALL WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND.

Still don't know what the deal with Fedulian is.

Awh, Arin. I love him so much.

PLATONIC "I LOVE YOU"'S.

Why are the so mean about Sora's cat? Poor Sora.

Lloyd getting floored by a cart. Nice.

NADAKHAN'S TEAPOT!! (/j)

Do we think that anyone in our team is going to get their soul shattered?

ARIN AND PERCIVAL RAAGGHHHHH

Oh ehm gee Cinder heyyy. (Guys I kind of get it).

OKAAYYYY EUPHRASIA SLAYYYY

I love Lloyd thinking Arin's grapple is cool.

Lloyd is just SO kind to Arin he's so gentle with him and is always reassuring him it AGHHHh I love.

So was it because of Ras that the ninja were attacked in season 1?

Isn't there a comic about the Forbidden Five? I want to read it.

AGHHHHAH LLOYD HAVING ANXIETY.

Not Sora still not remembering Jordana.

I want to know who is under the wolf masks GRRRR.

NYA GRABBING LLOYD'S HAND TO STEADY HIM AGHH.

More Arin getting tossed by the foot.

"You know I thrashed the last one, right?" Served.

First Shatterspin fight is pretty cool. I love how Wildbrain has really solidified that they have the superior action sequences.

Lloyd's sword toss move during the fight has me giggling he is so cool.

RIP Wyldfyre's leg.

LET CINDER MURDER.

Arin and Lloyd's jump looked a lil goofy tbh.

Lloyd havinnnnnng more doubt.

Oooohhhh yes the gong clashing + Cinder's snarky lil smirk. Peak television. I love.

GUYS I LOVE DRAGONS RISING SO MUCH. I don't think words can actually express the depth of my love for this series. This is it. After 13 years, I think Ninjago has finally hit it's own true potential. I have so many things I want to say but I think it will be at the end of my recap series.

Shatterspin is so cool and I love how Cinder owns them all. We see firstly that Cinder is a good fighter, but not good enough to defeat Kai without Shatterspin. Then, when he actually uses Shatterspin, the ninja don't stand a chance. It proves how powerful the technique really is.

I think I mentioned this in the last episodes post, but Lloyd having canon anxiety and panic attacks is just. Everything. Representation is fantastic. As someone who has had anxiety my whole life... if I had seen that as a child, maybe I would've learned about my anxiety way earlier. I'm so glad that this show is not afraid to talk about mental health.

I just. I love.

(this is the sword toss i was talking about)

[toastingpencils37]

Thinking about what Sora said about Dragon ivory being able to make people more powerful, but fill them with rage as a side effect, I think that the Gong of Shattering may be made from Dragon ivory.

Plus it's also gold like the dragon ivory things we've already seen

[user-without-a-cool-acronym]

Movieverse Cinder, but he is just some highschool bully who spray painted a frying pan golden and is now hitting people with it.

[happytobus]

So I was rewatching Lloyd’s visions to prepare for Part 2 (whenever that may release) and I noticed something about this sword that Beatrix destroys.

(Possible Spoilers Ahead!)

Given that one of the leaked episode titles for Season 2 Part 2 is titled “The Shattering Sword”, I have a feeling that this vision is not only important for what’s to come, but that it ties into events after this season (Post Source Tournament). If you look at this sword, it bears a striking resemblance to that crystalized golden weapon piece we got from Lego in 2022. So this sword that Beatrix destroys likely teases something for Ninjago in 2025/Dragons Rising Season 3. This sword doesn’t really match any current artifact we’ve seen, and definitely not the mallet and gong of shattering. I’m curious as to when Beatrix will make her return, as we definitely haven’t seen the last of her yet. We’re likely going to get this mysterious sword in a set at some point, and I’m sure it’s got some important story significance.

[nyaskitten]

It's so funny bc I'm split inside. Part of me wants Ras' master to be a Source Dragon, while the other thinks it's be SO cool if his master were an Oni, bc Oni and Dragon... RAGGHHH

[xylofondue]

Ninjago DR S2 Spoilers!!!

Ninjago dr s2 was soo good because it really reminded me of like the Oni Trilogy, which is my favorite group of seasons ever and i really appreciated the callbacks it made like in the Oni trilogy and OMG like it had really good animation and Cole is when hotter than before which i didn’t know could happen but it did and Galadrial??? Wizard lady? Yes please she’s so cool and her character design is mwah chef’s kiss and the Finders are so found family it hurts. Also theory for Fitz since he has a crow mask on his head and marking like Akira, he could be a forgotten formling? Which is pretty sad but maybe. Also the parallels between Lloyd and Arin and Wu and Morro???? Help??!? It is not good in my opinion that Lloyd is trying to be like Wu girlypop you do NOT want to be like him you know how his first student turned out and also apparently Arin learned Shatterspin??? Like the similarities between him and Cinder’s Shatterspins are ENDLESS. I also think that Arin has the FSM’s or Wu’s powers now bc he has golden powers and is ✨special ✨who else in Ninjago have we seen with golden colored powers? Wu and the FSM. Also WHERE IS PIXAL????? Shes dead and never comimg back im convinced also i NEED that Frohicky plush i swear i need it for my mental health its so adorable ALSO NON BINARY FLAG ON ONE OF THE PEOPLE IN DORAMA’S SHOW HAD IT ON THEIR SLEEVE IM SCREAMING AAAAAAAAAAA anyway egalt is a dickbag he should listen to his wife and not rag on Arin pls you are not helping him with his self esteem issues bro. AND THE KAI AND NYA FLASHBACK??? GORGEOUS AMAZING THEY WERE SO CUTE also what was kai’s vision in the tunnel???? Why was he looking at Lloyd and Nya like that??? What happened???? Also Arin is defo going to be manipulated into that Shattering Gong thing like omg. I guessed it ep2 and im sticking with it. They keep talking about how Arin is naive and good and stuff and Ras is taking advantage of that stay away from my baby i swear if you touch the child i will kill you. Also Lloyd is so not doing well. Like it’s almost funny how not okay he is. Bonzle is also officially one of my fav characters and i’m convinced that Zane was Cole’s gay crush or gay awakening bc they were super close and Cole was always more affectionate and touchy with Zane than the others (sorry lava) And Kai is so dad-coded it hurts he deserved to be the one to learn Rising Dragon technique i will fight anyone who disagrees. Also the fears scene was kinda funny like you had everyone else as like devastated and sad, while Nya’s just like “Jay would not fucking do that tf? Clearly fake” unfortunately it’s true and it hurts so much

Um

Good show about legos that i am so normal about.

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Dragons Rising S2 E1-5 Thoughts

Here’s some thoughts on the first episodes of Dragons Rising, Season 2:

The Blood Moon:

RAS AT SHADOW DOJO. Part of what makes the running joke about the scene so good is that the scene itself is really cool

Ras’ night vision is a cool detail but imagine a fight scene in the dark lit only by elemental powers where Ras fights the Ninja

New intro!

Intelligent George definitely uses clickbait thumbnails

Are Borg’s Sufficient Nutrient Wafers just using the Borg brand? Or actually made by Cyrus Borg

Goodbye cute baby Riyu, hello Teen Riyu

Poor Lloyd. Also a lot to analyze in that vision (but not here)

The way Arin talks about seeing his parents and Sora talks about unlocking her True Potential implies only a few weeks, maybe a month or two have passed since the end of S1. And outside of the reference to the Mech Master 5000 being an annual race in the Mech Shorts, it honestly could be that long (instead of over a year)

Kreel and I are the same: we both have “organization systems” only understood by ourselves

Kreel’s hat does look jaunty, and at least Arin smiled

So when did Cinder start searching for the mallet? Clearly before the season started, but the season also opened with Ras and Jordana finding the Shadow Dojo, and Jordana hadn’t met Cinder yet. Maybe Ras just gave him a call while walking in the Forest of Spirits to start looking

The Arin and Sora friendship is so sweet

“Maybe percussion is my thing”

Love the fight against Cinder

Cinder outmatches Arin and Sora and then immediately is forced on the defensive and flees when Lloyd arrives

“Our dark journey can begin” thank you for beating the villain allegations Ras

Shattered Dreams:

I would also like bagels

“We want you to work the same amount, just be funner about it.”

First the Cloud Kingdom, now Percival—we’re just revisiting S1 places

You can still see the bridge that was damaged in S1 connecting the Crossroads to Ninjago City

Where’s Mystake when you need her

Arin did you even do Spinjitzu to fight Cinder?

Would love to see Kreel’s robot dance

Sounds believable Fedulian, I’m with Arin here

“MAGIC ATTACK” “KILLER BUTTERFLY SWARM” “PSYCHIC ORB BLAST” I want a Hantro-Clutch Powers spin off

As weird as “shattering goodness” is, the music and atmosphere of the scene sells Hantro’s exposition

Love this flashback, and its location in the episode helps contribute to a constantly rising tension

I would like to learn an evil language

“You cursed the worms?” but when? And did he have this in mind when he did?

I love how the Five’s teachings and language have been banned but also the Cloud Kingdom is allowed to learn Theroxian (to translate it) and keep scrolls about the Five

Jordana is so mad lol. Tbf for Sora, she re-met Jordana for what, 10 minutes half a season ago?

Ras believes in strength above all else but also refuses to fight the Ninja on equal ground (he’s way above them and then sends out the Wolf Masks and Cinder to do what he can’t)

The Wolf Masks seem powerful once the Gong is struck (beating Arin, immune to fire, knocking Kai and Sora down) but then are easily dealt with in E10 so what gives?

Kai is so cool

Not gonna analyze the Cinder fight in detail. All I’ll say is that it’s well choreographed and directed, the music is great, and it’s kinda nuts that we get a fight this good in E2. Ofc Ras and the Ninja don’t interact until much later in S2P1, but this shows just how outmatched the Ninja are and demonstrates the need to learn a way to fight Shatterspin

Ouch Wyldfyre

Excellent episode

Beyond the Phantasm Cave:

Jordana demeaning Euphrasia to appease her own bruised ego

Sora and Arin - why is your dialogue to each other just saying what you feel? What happened to show don’t tell

Cool shot with Lloyd

We got names for the Source Dragons through the Netflix captions and credits lol

Kai and Wyldfyre why are you so well characterized? imagine if Wyldfyre had stayed at the Monastary and then everything else happened the same way — as in Kai was still sacrificed.

Yes, Wu would take you on a mission based on spirit smoke or actual dreams (see Hunted)

Cloud Kingdom sky base is so cool

Watching these episodes, even months later, after having seen the marketing clips so many times is funny. The clips were all great too — I love “Ninja Mission” 

Are flying ships commonplace in the 16 realms? Because how else would there be a bunch of destroyed ships 

I love the grappling scene for Arin’s character

Sora has the elemental power of LEGO sets

What is this random tentacle thing

Stop with the cute Arin Sora scenes they’re gonna be friends forever

“Are the Ninja your family now instead of us?” ouch

Sora how would that be Kai

“You will never be good enough” Lloyd you’ve saved the world countless times please seek therapy

What are the chances Jay has lost his memory and wouldn’t remember Nya, cmon not a very realistic fear

“What even are you” very good question Nya

I’m sure we’ll learn what Kai saw later, right?

“You should trust you, too” thank you Nya

Cliffhanger for the next episode

Force from the East:

This is a super cute scene, with a cool detail: Geo slightly misremembers things in favor of his and Cole’s relationship

Cole told Geo the cloud monks were nice? Only one was, while the Master Writer tried to get him and the other ninja eaten by whatever Nimbus is

Kai’s animation is very briefly messed up here

Dragon basketball is a key part of S2 and needed to be included

“I’ve always got you, Arin”

Hat-less, bald Egalt is so strange

Lloyd come on the ancient talking dragons are obviously the teachers

Lord Ras’ army meets its most dangerous foe yet: two orphan children

I know Geo can’t fuse living things, but couldn’t he fuse the clothes someone is wearing together and then to the ground?

COLE!

“Dragons can be Ninja?” the First Spinjitzu Master is crying in the grassland rn

Given that the Ninja have fought the embodiment of evil three times, I think they probably can imagine the evil of the Five

No fill us in on your mission now

Cole’s powers seem more… powerful, I guess

The name “Rising Dragon” is similar to if Sensei Yang called Airjitzu “Rising Human”

What are the consequences of using the gong too much?

“Oh [Ras is] evil. 100%. Even his breath smells evil.” Arin has very strong moral convictions

What is “last time”? Why did Egalt swear off training non-dragons?

The Forbidden Five exploit overconfidence, you say…

Even if the boundary spell was still in place, how would the fog prevent the Finders from using the portal gate?

“It doesn’t matter where they go. We will follow.” Ras then proceeded to do the opposite and wait for Bonzle to enter the Forest of Spirits

Another setup for the next episode

The Spell at the Waterfall:

I want a Frohicky plush

At least Fritz and Spitz like Mr. Frohicky’s cooking

Of all the things Bonzle could say… that was not something I would have predicted

I think Egalt would be more impressed with the Ninja if they mentioned they defeated the entire Oni invasion

How does Rontu know what Wyldfyre’s element is? Was it not an element created only after the Merge?

What does Wyldfyre’s element being Heat explain? Besides explaining how she and Kai seemingly have the same elements

Bonzle’s backstory is delivered beautifully

Rontu, I don’t think it’s possible to jump 3 times your height

“He’s just a dragon” Sora you’re talking to a dragon. “Dragons can’t do Spinjitzu” Sora seriously read the room

Love Egalt’s lesson and the surrounding scene. As the Ninja are going through the motions, Arin is consistently a half-second or so behind

The Wu and Bonzle scene is also really really good. I wonder where in the timeline it takes place — given that Wu and Garmadon are “no longer on the same side” but the Ninja are Wu’s family, it’s probably post-Pilots but before the end of S2 or between Hunted and March of the Oni. I don’t think the sideburns matter that much in determining time, since Wu could just shave them. (All this matters far less than the great conversation in the scene itself)

Nah Sora, that’s clearly a Mucoid

Okay yet another fun scene with great music

Lloyd and Egalt’s training styles are very different

Arin nooo :(

Bonzle of course they’d accept you for you are

“Strength is all that matters” hmm okay 

RAS WHAT who are you talking to AHHH

Sacrifices!?

Next up, the most recent episodes of Dragons Rising Season 2 to release (at the time they were supposed to) – the finale of Season 2 Part 1!