Echo Zane is a challenging character. And no, I'm not talking about him becoming Mr. E.
Echo Zane, for all of his sweet, heartwarming antics in Skybound, forces us to reevaluate Dr. Julien. Zane's father, as charming and endearing as he appears in Seasons 1 and 2, was not only willing to make a replacement for his son, but to also abandon this apparently sentient replacement as soon as the true Zane came along. We could absolutely create some kind of excuse- maybe Echo Zane chose to stay behind in the lighthouse, being locked up alone for years would make anyone do insane things etc.
Maybe this is just me, but it does leave a slightly bitter taste in my mouth. I love Dr. Julien... but he's got some serious issues (just like basically almost other ninja parent in the show...)
However, Echo Zane does set up a very interesting parallel between Dr. Julien and Nadakhan, and, by proxy, Echo and Nya. What Echo Zane is to Zane, Nya is to Delara. A fabrication designed to replace the better version, only to be shoved aside possessed when the better version becomes a viable option.
About a year ago I wrote a very long analysis comparing Dr. Julien and Lord Garmadon as fathers and I find it fascinating that once more, Dr. Julien, or at least the implication of Dr. Julien, is less of a character in his own right, and more a mirror of the season's enemy.
Both Dr. Julien and Nadakhan find themselves trapped and alone for a significant amount of time.
Both Dr. Julien and Nadakhan attempt to create/ control someone who looks identical to the person they love most in the world.
And both Dr. Julien and Nadakhan replace their replacement as soon as the original person comes along.
Dr. Julien and Nadakhan certainly aren't a one to one comparison. Dr. Julien never kidnapped and tortured anyone, never ripped apart Ninjago to create his own empire, never sexually assaulted a teenager (at least, I hope not...) But I think the similarities still stand.
In a nutshell, Echo Zane symbolizes the horrors Nya endures in this season, as Nadakhan's vessel to contain Delara. And while Dr. Julien dies, and Nadakhan is trapped in a teapot, Zane remains oblivious and Delara goes back to the Departed Realm...
Echo and Nya are both left to deal with the consequences.
