Angsty analysis anon popping in with an extremely long analysis at 2 am because I made a realization and I refuse to suffer alone:
Part of the reason why Lloyd went from barely tolerated little asshole to baby brother in Kai's eyes so damn quickly (S1 ep 4 insults, S1 ep 6 already affectionate nicknames, S1 ep 10 open protective behavior) is empty nest syndrome.
Like think about it. Nya's independence arc happens at the exact same time. Like the whole samurai X thing, and Kai learning and accepting that his little sister who he practically raised is grown now, and can not only take care of herself but is also a capable hero on her own.
Kai "letting her go" to do her own thing so to speak happens at the same time that an abandoned, misguided, stubborn and feral kid barrels into Kai's life, clearly in need of not just good role models but caring, more parental figures (and the latter, while Wu and Garmadon both attempt to achieve, neither can't for obvious reasons). There's this wild little asshole, who Kai definitely saw himself in to some degree, right there and in need of protection and guidance and raising, just around the time Nya reaches the point of maturity where she relies on Kai less and less for those, and well... That doesn't mean Kai's excessive protective and caring and raising urges go away, does it? Those aspects of him are strongly present because of all that early abandonment and trauma, and they're not gonna go away just because Kai is not in that enviroment anymore or Nya no longer needs it. And Lloyd is conveniently present, and in need of that exact role (or really, any stable caretaker/protector figure).
And obviously as Lloyd grows up, he goes through similar independence arcs, but for him it's not one, and well they're not the result of organic maturing and healthier enviroments like Nya's, but rather very stressful grief laden situations (Zane's death and Wu's time stream disappearance both force Lloyd to make do alone without big brother support, and you can see the stark maturity jumps between S3 and S4, and S7 and S8). By the time of the merge Lloyd's fully an adult, and his relationship with Kai is more... I can't put it any other way, equal. The protection and care and stuff is mutual now not just in intention but... Strength too now, similar to the way Kai's relationship with Nya is portrayed in S5 (with Kai saying she looked after him too, and Kai says this a couple years after Nya's independence arc in S1) because they're both fully grown adults and thankfully their brotherhood is portrayed as such by then.
Because I'm an S5 fan I can't disregard the possibility that Lloyd has two maturity arcs, each involving him gaining leadership roles, because of Morro. Lloyd's a fully mature leader at the age of 14-16 in S4 and the guys are sillier than him and respect him fully, and follow his leadership in ep 1 of S5 without question... Yet in S7 the guys don't really wanna accept his authority... The only event that happens between these two arcs that could make Lloyd's relationship with Kai (and really all the ninja) regress from "equal and leader" back to "younger, inexperienced brother who's not yet strong and wise enough to be leader" is Morro (and as always, the implications of that are huge... Because it's not just the ninja treating Lloyd as not yet fit to lead in S7, Lloyd is making many obvious mistakes there, which given S4 and S5, he should know better than mean that it's not just the ninja, with emphasis on Kai regressing back to being more protective and... Babying because of the trauma, but Lloyd also losing his confidence and leader traits, and likely plenty of (very much premature) maturity too, acting his actual age (probably roughly 15-16?)).
So yeah one of the reasons for the incredibly quick adoption is Kai likely having some empty nest syndrome.
And I love how this recontextualizes Lloyd's and Nya's relationship entirely. Their bond likely starts out as a normal friendship between the two people left behind on the ship while the boys go on missions. Nya is Lloyd's first normal friend and while she's also functionally kinda his babysitter at the very beginning, she doesn't have those... Parental kind of undertones Kai does (this isn't as obvious in show, but Splinter in the Blind man's eye blatantly and poetically confesses that Kai's role in Lloyd's life is in this blurred patch between big brother and father figure, and while yes it's fanfic written by a producer, everyone cites it as what's probably the canon lore so I will too).
What I'm trying to say is, Nya goes from friend to big sister, and Kai goes from bully (S1 ep1) to that weird intermediate thing between big brother and father figure (there's a verb that describes this type of care in hungarian, it's pretty archaic but I think it fits, gyámol, which means support/protect. It's never attributed to the way parents care for their children or siblings care for each other, but it's what the word for legal guardian is derived from for example).
And it's so cool how the interactions of RGB sibs show that. Kai's and Nya's relationship in S7 shows all that history of starting out with Kai being that supporting guardian figure in Nya's life and also how currently they're tight knit siblings who are equally caring for each other. The way Kai acts with Lloyd in S1, S2 and especially S5 screams that sort of "legal guardian is kinda like this" vibe (to be fair, Garmadon's sacrifice and absence definitely has to do with that one), and by DR it's more like Kai's and Nya's S7 bond due to growing up and Kai losing the parental part of his role to Lloyd. Nya's S5 suit switch and her S9 stuff with Lloyd and the way Lloyd describes her in Crystalized are stereotypical "tough big sister" stuff, doing something crazy dangerous to protect him, dragging his ass out of depression through encouragement and harsh sparring, and Lloyd saying she'd kick his ass for daring to quit (and then there's DR Nya helping Lloyd through his panic attack too).
Sorry for this being so long, but I just kept finding more and more connections and being amazed that it keeps making sense with sooo many seasons... Also, I'm curious about your opinion on this!
HI!!!! Guess who’s catching up on asks before monstrosity drops??????? (I’m so so very sorry, my life has been super hectic the past few weeks. I keep very busy.) anyway due to length gonna drop this under a read more
AAAAAA THIS IS SO TRUE!!!!!!! You understand!!! you get it…. Under the cynicism, Kai is such a loving, caring character. I totally see this for him with Nya no longer needing to lean on him like she may have when they were younger.
THIS IS SO TRUE!!!!! lloyd coming into Kai's life really did coincide with his arc about realizing Nya was a capable hero and doesn't need him in the same way she may have in the past. this is such a good point...
YES YES YE YES TRUE AND CORRECT!!!!!! I am a firm believer in the idea (on multiple levels) that Kai needed Lloyd just as much as Lloyd needed him, it's just in completely different ways. Lloyd, as you said, needed a supportive, stable, and caring figure to look out for him. Kai needed someone to help him see he was in the wrong with the green ninja stuff, and I also love this added layer of him having a bit of empty nest syndrome that Lloyd winds up helping with. And I firmly think that part of why Kai and Lloyd clicked is because Kai saw so much of himself in Lloyd. Like I'm convinced at some point Kai looked at Lloyd, an angry, misguided child lashing out and lacking parents and had an "oh shit" realization. I totally agree with this YOURE SO RIGHT!!! lloyd crash lands into Kai's life right as Kai's learned he needs to loosen up and understand Nya's not in need of a protector and has grown up.
Yeah, pretty much all of the ninja have messed up aspects to their childhoods, but Lloyd really does have to mature and adapt FAST. He's under pressure from a young age and has to grow up quick, literally and figuratively. (I hadn't really thought about this but very, very excellent point here!!!!). And yeah, in DR and even later seasons of the original, all of the rgb sibs are on pretty much equal footing. All three of em are all grown up in DR. And while Kai's thing is being protective, I think all the ninja are protective to some degree and like to think all the rgb sibs are fiercely protective of each other. Like Kai may always be his big brother, but Lloyd's def fiercely protective of him too, especially by DR. I think DR has really handled that fairly well when we do get Kai and Lloyd interactions. Still clear that Kai's the older brother but they're on equal ground.
OHHHHHH YES OMG I DIDNT EVEN THINK ABOUT THIS!!!!!! because yeah the only events between that and s7 are morro and skybound, and skybound technically never happened. I don't have much to add here, and I'll admit I had a hard time getting through s7 and don't remember it as well as other seasons. but I totally agree, this is such a good way to look at it and think about it. Could also imply that offscreen Morro was saying things that made Lloyd question his skills and authority as a leader which I think makes sense. Morro, believing Lloyd doesn't deserve the green ninja title, could very well try to convince Lloyd of that too.
this is so correct.
Yeah, I think Lloyd and Nya are an extremely underloved and underrated duo. I think all that time being left behind on the ship definitely had to have caused them to be extremely close. They had to have been spending a lot of time bonding, and I think there was a time Nya knew him better than anyone else on the team. That being said, I do agree there's not parental undertones there at all. Lloyd and Nya are fantastic, but I highly doubt that's how he views here. (I have actually read that!!!! I know it's not technically canon, but the fact that it explicitly had Lloyd refer to kai as a brother and father figure confirmed to me what was already subtly there in the show. Kai and Lloyd's dynamic is really wild because they are in that weird gray area, but I find it really interesting. They're definitely my personal favorite duo in the show.)
Yeah, I think that sums it up well!! Season 1, despite its flaws, is a top 3 Ninjago season for me, and this is part of why. I am a huge fan of all the character and relationship development within it. It's sweet to see Lloyd and Nya's sibling dynamic forming. And it's sweet to see Kai go from being a bully and jerk to Lloyd to "holy shit I would do anything to keep this kid safe." (GAHHH that's so cool!!! I wish English had something like that. there's a lot of dynamics actually that I feel like English just doesn't have the term to capture well. I feel similarly about some of the DR cast relationships.)
YES THE RGB SIBS THROUGH THE SEASONS MAKES ME ILL!!!! THEY ARE THE ABSOLUTE HIGHLIGHT OF NINJAGO FOR ME!!! THAT TRIO IS ACTUALLY THE BEST DYNAMIC WITHIN THE SHOW FOR ME!!!!!!! And DR really captures them so well. They're all grown up, but there's still traces there if that makes sense? Which is how I think it is when sibs grow up irl too. Like they're all on equal footing, but like Kai and Nya will always be Lloyd's big sibs. Kai will always be Nya's big brother. I think that was clear back in DRs1 when they were jokingly teasing Lloyd, like yeah they're all grown and all value each other as equals... and they'll tease their little brother. Or similarly when Nya says Kai was always her hero. She's grown, she's his equal, and he'll also still always be her big brother. Their relationship evolves, but some things won't ever change, yk? DR makes me sooooo emotional seeing all 3 of them all grown up, taking care of each other and their students, just ljslkfjlsdjflsjflsjflsjfsdjfl. ALSO YES!!! Nya and Lloyd's sibling dynamic really is on display in s9, and I'm glad that it's gotten more attention over the years. they're such an underloved duo, we need more gb siblings always.
NEVER APOLOGIZE YOU DROPPED MY FAVORITE CHARACTERS AND FAVORITE DYNAMICS IN MY INBOX. also weirdly enough not angst from you? thank you for the fluff before monstrosity horrors. I loved loved loved reading this. RGB sibs continue to be one of the best parts of ninjago sjfklsjflsjflsjflskfl. Ninjago has had its bumps after 14 years, but it's amazing to see rgb sibs flourishing just as they pretty consistently have been... my beloved rgbs.
