Group photo of all the ninjas: (from left to right) Kai, Cole, Sensei Wu, Zane, Lloyd, Nya, and Jay. This image is a screenshot from the opening intro. The copyright belongs to The LEGO Group.
One of my most favorite T.V. shows of all time was Ninjago, which was aired on Cartoon Network in the United States. I have stopped watching for a few years, as I was either too lazy or busy to watch anything on cable T.V., but it always had a special place in my heart (technically my brain, but you know what I mean). After hearing about the show getting a movie in 2017, I started to follow up on it again. As of right now, it has about 13 seasons, which really surprised me, as I stopped watching after season 5 and assumed it ended after not hearing much about it.
The show centers around Kai, Jay, Cole, and Zane, who find out they are destined to save the world from evil. They were found by Sensei Wu, who saw their talent and potential. He trained them to become masters of Spinjitzu and sets them out on a quest to find the Golden weapons before Lord Garmadon, the main villain, gets to them first. They are able to locate each weapon, which gives each ninja an elemental power, and matches their personality and color that Sensei Wu assigned to them. Kai, the red ninja, receives the Sword of Fire, Jay, the blue ninja, gets the Nunchucks of Lightning, Cole, the black ninja, gets the Scythe of Quakes (which is earth elemental), and Zane, the white ninja, gets the Shurikens of Ice.
With these weapons in their possession, they are able to defeat powerful weapons and keep peace and balance in the Ninjago. They face many villains, such as skeletons and serpents, but overall, it is Lord Garmadon who presents the biggest threat. He wants to get all the Golden weapons so that he can take over the world and get revenge on Master Wu for sending him to the Underworld, typical villain stuff.
I really enjoyed this show because it was based on legos, which I was kind of obsessed with as a kid. It was something I loved to play and build with, especially with my brother, so when a show animated to look like legos came out, I automatically watched it. I was also interested by the show's plot, as it seemed really simple at the beginning, but with each and every episode, the lore of the world became more complex and intriguing that I kept watching. Also, since it was a kids' show, I found its jokes and humor to be hilarious. I don't want to get into too much details, but I would totally recommend watching it. It's not something you should take seriously and is really nostalgic for me, but it also serves as a great past-time show or something to play in the background while you work.
The thing that made the show especially good was the plot twists. They usually came out of no where and surprised me, but if you look back at previous episodes, you can find the hints that foreshadowed those events. It also really helped better viewers understand the show's characters more and added more depth to seemingly shallow or two-dimensional characters. I would like to talk about some of my favorite twists, so this is your spoiler warning. I will be putting an image before I talk about it to save your eyes if you do not wish to be spoiled.
Screenshot image of the battle between Lord Garmadon (left) and the green ninja (right). The copyright belongs to The LEGO Group.
If you're reading this, I'm assuming you're okay with reading my favorite twists from the show. Starting off, the first twist that caught me off guard was the reveal of who the green ninja was. Unlike the original group of Kai, Jay, Cole, and Zane, the green ninja had not been chosen yet. They were foretold to be the strongest and most powerful ninja who was destined to defeat evil and save Ninjago. But, it was revealed that the green ninja was actually destined to be Lloyd Garmadon, the son of Lord Garmadon, the ultimate villain! In a later flashback it was also revealed that Lord Garmadon was also Sensei Wu's brother, and was consumed by evil after being bitten by The Great Devourer. It was shocking to find out these relations and was funny and heartbreaking to see these former family members fight against each other.
There are plenty more twists and turns that I could discuss, but I would rather you watch it and experience it on your own if you're interested. This is just what I found to be particularly intriguing about the show Ninjago.