I finished Season 6 of my Ninjago rewatch, heres my review
I have FEELINGS about Skybound 💔my expectations were really low going in, I don’t remember much of it when I first watched it. I recall it being one of the more ‘hated’ seasons, so while I went in with an unbiased perspective, I still was expecting the worse. I was PLEASANTLY surprised to found out that was not the case.
Genuinely speaking, Skybound was the funniest season of Ninjago. From its humor to ridiculous visuals, it was unseriously funny. “The world is falling apart and he’s eating soup” has stuck itself into my vocabulary.
The visuals have gotten both better, but there were moments, especially in the first episode, where it was way too bright, or insanely shiny. It felt out of place in some moments, but there were times when it worked as well. The soundtrack was great as always though, though nothings topped S5 for me.
Unfortunately, I think what shot Skybound down was that suffered from two big things: the characters, and it’s plot.
All of the characters have been mischaracterized and exaggerated. While some new traits could’ve worked, it was insanely over the top, like Kai being obsessed with social media, and Nya hating being the ‘girl.’ I think Nya suffered the most from this. Her storyline of adjusting as a Ninja could’ve been executed much better if her only personality wasn’t switching up every moment. Her not taking Jays hand was the pinnacle of this. She had always been stubborn and independent, but not to the point where she’d just stand there. I think the first episode especially was the worst, but the characters seemed to find themselves again as the story progressed. Jaya’s relationship happened very fast too. I forgive it because they both went through a trauma only they remember, but I think they needed more time to find themselves in a ‘normal’ setting too.
The plot struggled just as hard. I found the beginning idea of Dareth making the Ninja reality TV-stars a bit pointless, mostly because it wasn’t executed well as the sub plot. There were a lot of preventable moments and plot holes too, but I think its biggest flaw was for trying to use an extremely heavy plot.
Nadakhan is one of the most sickening villains introduced to the franchise. His power and goals were overpowering, and he stooped to extreme lows to gain more. It would’ve been much more successful if the plot allowed it to be treated with the serious it needed, especially with the Nya/Delara thing.
Because the finale was not permanent, with Jay’s wish resetting everything, I think the writers had fun with it, which is why notes weren’t checked to avoid plotholes, probably where the humor came from, and why they didn’t seem to shy away from making what would’ve been irreversible choices. But at the same time, the lack of effort put in because it’d ‘be reversed anyway’ is why Skybound lacked in weight. There was so, so much potential for this season, it was very brave and very bold to go down such an uncomfortable path, but these types of plots need more time and seriousness to be as meaningful as they need to be, S6 couldn’t provide that.
But I don’t think that makes Skybound a bad season, I wouldn’t even call it the worst. Excluding the first episode ( which is my own preference ), I would rewatch this Season again just for it’s humor and the fact it dared to test the limits. Even if the plot lacked the weight it needed, it still angst and was good during heavier times. If the pacing were a little slower and things were able to settle, I think it would’ve benefited it a little more.
There is so much more I could say, both good and bad, but that feeds into a lot of nitpicking and yap. Skybound was an enjoyable season at the end of the day, which forgives itself.
Could’ve been better, but also could’ve been worse. I give Skybound a 8/10.
