May 23, 2025
I really need to let this out. One small thing about Dragons Rising and Ninjago as a whole when you think about it that grinds my gears is that they go with European dragons instead of Asian dragons.
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I really need to let this out. One small thing about Dragons Rising and Ninjago as a whole when you think about it that grinds my gears is that they go with European dragons instead of Asian dragons.
While season 3 was enjoyable, there were some things that left me very disappointed and I need to let some things off my chest.
Once again, Ninjago has never been perfect. Not even now with Dragons Rising, even though it's still a huge improvement from the later seasons of the first series.
I think the biggest letdown is how Zane's arc ended up. Just as I feared, his supposed importance was almost entirely because of his and Pixal's relationship. In the last two seasons, he did nothing but whine and mope about her like she's the only person that matters and the ninja don't even exist to him which got annoying so fast. And just when it seemed like the season was going to be about him, he only got a couple of episodes in the first half and again, it was all about him and Pixal. I was hoping more will be done for Zane in the second half but the writers ended up immediately giving him the Cole treatment. And as always, this also ended up affecting Pixal. At least Pixal managed to have some good interactions with other characters and even got to beat up Zarkt before getting cast aside too because the writers are cowards who still won't let her to do anything else besides being a love interest.
If anyone suspects it, yeah. I'm just gonna say it. I don't like Pixane. At all. Never did. Never will. It's not as good or even as healthy as the stans make it out to be.
Another fear that was confirmed was Jay's arc in that it mostly affected Nya. Yeah, the ninja were concerned too but they still generally took a back seat compared to her. Even before that, I wanted to see a ninja go through an actually good villain arc but it was yet another letdown when he was quickly beaten up. The only good thing is that the writers didn't rush anything after that and there's even the possibility that Jay might not get his memories back at all which will make things interesting rather than the cliche of the amnesiac lover remembering everything (especially by a deus ex machina) and then the relationship resumes like nothing happened. Still, I wish the writers would've done more for Jay outside of Jaya.
Again, season 3 was a golden opportunity for both Jay and Zane to interact and be relevant in ways that don't revolve around romantic relationships but alas, the writers really dropped the ball on them.
As for the other characters, Cole got some cool moments but he still felt like a background character at times. This isn't anything new and I think the writers are going for a bit of a 'quality over quantity' thing with the way they've been treating him but it's starting to get annoying. Kai was around more than Cole but he was still barely did anything but I found his case more forgivable since he was the focus of Monstrosity.
But on to some positive things, Lee was a really cool villain and Arin and Sora were the ones who really carried this season. If disliking Pixane hasn't gotten me in deep shit already, then I'll also admit that I actually like Arin and Sora as main characters more than Lloyd.
Honestly, season 4 really needs to pull out all the stops to make up for this season's setbacks but perfection is impossible. I can only hope that it won't mess up as badly when it comes out.
I really want to see Geo interact with any other character than Cole. I have nothing against him or his relationship with Cole but if the writers aren't careful, he could end up being those annoying 'just a love interest' characters.
If what the writers say about Zane being relevant in season 3 is true and Pixal might return in the same season, I'm really hoping Zane's future importance isn't just because of their relationship alone (and I can say the same for Pixal). There's fans saying Geo doesn't get to do much outside of his relationship with Cole but the same can be said about Zane right now and Pixal isn't even around. Also, when Pixal returns, she could really benefit from interacting with any other character besides Zane but I already ranted about that. At the same time, I don't want any repeats of what happened to Zane yet again for the millionth time. I just want the writers to start treating Zane like an actual character instead of just a token robot slash trauma magnet.
I... am not sure how to feel about Lloyd being the 'mascot' for this season. I know I'll be blasted to oblivion for this but I'm gonna be honest. Lloyd is my least favorite of the main 6 ninja. I've heard complaints that he's 'bland' or has 'no personality' and while I understand it, my main issue with him aren't those. My problem with Lloyd is that his plots or whatever he goes through every season feels repetitive. I feel like I keep seeing the same tropes being used with him over and over and it keeps me from liking him as much as the rest of the fandom does. I will admit Dragons Rising has gotten a bit better about it but if Lloyd is going to be the main ninja of season 4, they'll really need to step it up.
When Pixal comes back, the writers need to let her interact with any other character besides Zane.
There are so many times where the hero turns evil cuz of amnesia and go back to normal once they recover their memories and I find it exhausting. I'd like to see the opposite happen which brings me to this theory I have about Jay that will more than likely never happen. Still, I'm gonna say it.
Throughout Dragons Rising so far, the ninja don't seem to show concern about Jay (I'm sure they do, it's just that they have bigger things to worry about for now). Somehow, Jay learns about this around the same time he starts to remember everything. Jay's relationship with others, especially Nya, are important to him so this could be really devastating for him. All this might make him feel like they didn't really care about him and it ends up pushing him over the edge and he eventually snaps.
What I'm saying is that I want to see a good guy turn evil on their own rather than because of an outside influence. It'll make them feel more like actual characters rather than tools or plot devices. Also, I don't want it to be rushed either, even if it means Jay might be evil for more than one season. which would be interesting
I know I'm gonna get hated for this but... I was kinda iffy about Kai reuniting with everyone so soon. Even if it was guaranteed he and Bonzle would escape the Nether-Space before season 2 ended, I would've preferred if they were still far away from everyone else and the big reunion would have to wait until season 3. Maybe I just wanted some more Nya angst that had nothing to do with Jay.