I know people are disappointed that Dragons Rising has given all of the new ninja (except for Riyu!) some sort of love interest/ romantic situationship.
BUT- I do appreciate the way these relationships have been introduced.
In the original seasons, it was always love at first sight:
Jay hears about a girl: is she hot? Jay meets said girl: proceeds to ask what her favorite color is in a manner that sounds strangely akin to a marriage proposal.
P.I.X.A.L. walks down the stairs: Zane can't take his eyes away from her. P.I.X.A.L. looses power during an intentional strategic move: Zane splits his entire power source to make sure she's functional.
Skylor exists: Kai, don't get distracted. Skylor still exists: Kai, not again.
Even Harumi has something similar happen- despite the fact that she ends up being a villain, all she does is stand there and Lloyd immediately has a crush and the ninja are all oohing and aahing over him.
At least in Dragons Rising, (most) of the characters are introduced at least one season before they're roped into romance, and they are given arcs outside of said romance.
Frak came in during the Tournament of Sources, and there was no trace of romantic interest in Sora until the following season. Even then, he had a very important arc occur before he acknowledged his crush, and because nothing official has happened between them, both characters have had plenty of room to develop independently.
Euphrasia was introduced during the very first season, and has made multiple appearances since, including her arc about speaking up for her own destiny. However, it isn't until the fourth season that there are any traces of romance with Arin, and even then it's mostly hand holding that extends slightly past platonic.
Wyldfyre and Roby is the only relationship that breaks this, with Wyldfyre immediately crushing on him the moment she sees him. But I still think this is an improvement for several reasons:
1- Wyldfyre, the girl, is the one who gets love at first sight. And Roby is very quick to reciprocate it, but this is the first main Ninjago ship where the boy isn't the first one to be enamored. (Except for maybe Lloykita? If that’s ever made more official??)
2- Robfyre is surprisingly wholesome. Honestly, they might be the healthiest Ninjago ship I've yet seen, and they've only existed for like 35 episodes. They have both adapted to each other's culture, and consistently show each other love and respect, which is more than I can say for some of the other main ships...
3- Wyldfyre had been taken under Nya's wing for the Tournament. At this point in Dragons Rising, Nya was desperately missing Jay. So it's not hard to imagine her telling Wyldfyre stories of her love life... and that Wyldfyre would naturally assume that love at first sight is the one and only way to go.
Do I love that all of our new Ninjago girls currently have some sort of near-canon ship right now? No. There is certainly room for improvement. But I am grateful that they all have still gotten characterization beyond that ship. At the bare minimum, at least Ninjago is exploring romance outside of the "love at first sight" trope, okay?
