Airdate: April 16, 2018
Some months after the disappearance of Master Wu, the ninjas reunite as a shadowy new threat stalks the streets of Ninjago City, the Sons of Garmadon.
Tropes:
- Bait-and-Switch: The episode begins with six ninja, with red, blue, black, white, green, and grey markings, breaking into Borg Tower and stealing something. Then they get attacked by Lloyd.
- The Bus Came Back: P.I.X.A.L., who has been conspicuously missing since the mid-point of season 7, returns as the ninja's Mission Control.
- Genre Savvy: When learning that there are three Oni masks, but the third is missing, the gang all realize this means the third will turn up.
- Harmless Freezing: Zane accidentally ices Kai during a fight with The Mechanic.
- Jerkass Ball: Nya suddenly and loudly starts complaining about the royal family, only to drop the ball like a hot potato when Harumi compliments her.
- Leaning on the Fourth Wall: Jay and Cole's introduction has them mentioning how after all the time travel at the conclusion of the last season, things might've changed. Jay scorns the notion as he takes off his hood, to reveal he and Cole now look different.
- Love at First Sight: Lloyd starts crushing on Harumi when he first lays eyes on her.
- Mondegreen Gag: Discussion about the Oni masks gets sidetracked by Jay mishearing the word as "only".
- The Nth Doctor: A non-actor example. It's implied in Cole and Jay's dialogue that time travel effects from the previous season caused the ninja team's design changes.
- Put on a Bus: Misako has gone looking for Wu.
- Remember the New Guy?: The Ninjago Royal Family, who have never even been hinted at existing before this episode. Gets a tiny handwave with the mention they're shy and don't like to get involved.
- Retcanon: The ninja have been redesigned to look more like their Lego Ninjago Movie selves. The writers tried to justify it with Cole hinting that the Time Twins' meddling with the timestream in the last season along with Master Wu's disappearance caused a ripple effect that changed their appearances without them knowing.
- The Smurfette Principle: Gets a Lampshade Hanging when Harumi lists off the attributes of each of the ninja, and when she gets to Nya initially just describes her as "the girl". Then she lists some of Nya's other attributes.
- Time Skip: It's been a year in-universe since the last episode. Despite Lloyd's promise, the ninja have had no luck finding where Wu has gone to, and have split up to handle different things.
