Airdate: January 29, 2014
Kai, Cole, Jay and Zane have become teachers at Wu's new school in the wake of the Overlord's defeat. Though they were victorious, peace has begun to grind the former heroes' nerves. They jump at the opportunity to return to the rebuilt Ninjago City (despite Kai's protests and dislike of new technology). There the ninja are meet with the hi-tech city now called New Ninjago City, rebuilt by the reclusive genius Cyrus Borg. The ninja and Nya lead their class to Borg Tower (former site of the Overlord's defeat) where they are given a tour by P.I.X.A.L - a robotic assistant of Borg that Zane immediately falls for. Here Cyrus requests the ninja's audience and gives them a golden statue and a cryptic warning. Only too late do they realize the Overlord still lives and has possessed the mainframe of Borg Industries—and by extension the entire city. Given new suits and powerful weapons called Techno Blades, the ninja must use them to stop the Overlord and reclaim the city.
Tropes:
- Ambiguous Situation: Cyrus's right hand occasionally switches from yellow to black (and vice-versa) even before his Unwilling Roboticisation, making it unclear if his right arm was already mechanical before the Overlord got to him.
- Costume Evolution: The four original Ninja obtain their Techno Robes in this episode.
- Demonic Possession: By the end of the episode, the Overlord has transformed Cyrus into a cyborg, using him and his cybernetic walker as a vessel.
- Funny Background Event:
- During P.I.X.A.L.'s introductory scene, Kai is visibly struggling to get his foot out of an automatic door in a few shots.
- One of the screens in Cyrus's office is playing the romance movie that we see Jay and Nya watching in "Home".
- Glass Smack and Slide: The Ninjas fall out of the window of a high tower, but they grasp a firehose and swing, expecting to re-enter through another window below. Except the reinforced glass holds true, making them smack against it and slide down. Thankfully, there is a window cleaner nacelle right beneath them.
- Love at First Sight: Literally how Zane and P.I.X.A.L began liking each other.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: P.I.X.A.L's, along with all the other machines of Cyrus Borg's, eyes turn red when they are being controlled by the Overlord. Cyrus's own eyes turn red when converted into the OverBorg.
- Stock Audio Clip: Jay exclaiming "Ha! I love it!" after hacking a tank with his Techno Blade is reused from "The Snake King", where he said it in reaction to the team deciding that the Green Ninja would be whoever discovered Samurai X's identity first.
- Time Skip: It's clear that quite some time has passed since the events of Season 2. Details from later in the season (as well as the complete overhaul from Ninjago City to New Ninjago City) imply that at least a year or two has passed, but no exact dates are given.
