#reginald slitherbottom

Plot

I do see a decent improvement in the storyline quality of season four compared to two and three. Things felt slightly more consistent and the side plots feel more relevant to the mainline plot. We see a pretty even focus on each main character, which has both pros and cons that I'll get to later on. Things tied up nicely by the last two episodes, with a well-timed conclusion that felt appropriate for not being the grand finale of the season just yet.

I was surprised to see the Whispering Wood scene we were teased appear in the first two episodes. I'm still not sure it was the right decision to release such a scene early. After Lloyd speaks with the Life dragon, we learn of an impossible trial he must face. Of course Lloyd succeeds and gains a new form, pretty much ending his arc for the season. I was expecting a little more arc for Lloyd, but the scenes we got were ultimately enough to satisfy for the time allowed, and I doubt Lloyd fans will be so well fed for a while more. Lloyd's arc seemed the most interesting to me, and the advertising crew, apparently.

A lot of s4's story was a simple "good versus evil." With the Elemental Monsters and Empress Beatrix's loyalists taking up most of the plotline, not much room was left for anything besides melee fighting. With this season, I find myself missing the morally complex villians from the original series. I give Reginald Slitherbottom and the explorer's club credit for being somewhat morally grey, though even one member in the end could help but betraying the team, and Mr. Slitherbottom of course had to be given an ending redemption arc as a quick save.

Dragons Rising does have an underlying issue with pacing and parallel plots. In an effort to attract a younger audience and compete with short-form videos, the speed at which conflict arises and scenes are changed is a little disconcerting as an older fan. There's nothing wrong with side plots, the problem was we had four at one time and each were treated with equal importance and equal screen time. I think this greatly contributes to a sense of "blink and you'll miss something" and confusion. To give the brain a much-needed cool-down, rest scenes do exist in this series. However, they are extremely short-lived compared to slower scenes from the original show, such as season 6 and 8. I did notice some improvement with this in s4, particularly the later half when everything started to come together. But I find it difficult to watch more than three episodes at a time, for lack of mental processing.

As far as plot-twists go, there was nothing very crazy happening. This isn't new for Ninjago- we've had three or four really great twists but typically seasons follow a predictably linear path. I don't see this a negative thing entirely, but it's always nice to be surprised. I avoided spoilers for this season like the plague, but turned out, almost everything notable had been previously teased by the clips and sets. I think evil Lloyd was the only important thing I hadn't seen previously. Even Jay regaining his memories- well, it had to happen at some point right? That clip of Jay in the chair from the teaser was so blatant that I was almost hoping it wouldn't happen right then. That would have been more interesting to me, after three whole seasons of build up.

I expected this season to add a lot of lore, based on the Whispering Woods teaser. We got the "multiple life masters" bomb dropped, then the "tree of life that connects everything" was shown, and finally the definition of Lloyd's power (finally) but- that's where it ends. To add so radically to the lore like that deserves way more explanation and tie-in than it received. I hope the writers have something in mind for these additions. I do appreciate the callbacks to the scroll of destiny and the tree of life "tease" in Mistake's tea shop in Sons of Garmadon. I'm just not sure it was enough for the new lore to feel connected and consistent with the old. Again, I think this avoidance/rewriting of previous lore is an attempt to connect with newer fans, but this season feels a little ignorant of the very delicate story the original series had worked to build.

Grievances aside, Dragons Rising seems to be building an increasing sense of something bigger happening across seasons, which we get rare glimpses of every part or so. I commend the writers for orchestrating an overarching story, though that story becomes harder and harder to keep track of the more seasons release. It's my only hope that this plot's conclusion is as satisfyingly epic as it deserves. It's not easy to play the long game in such an segmented show.

Of course, without the closure of part two, these opinions remain somewhat arbitrary.

Characterizations

Despite the scrapping of "focus seasons," season 4 does feel heavily Lloyd-centric. I am a huge fan of what they did with his "other" selves, giving us a delightfully nostalgic performance from Jillian Michaels, reprising her role as young Lloyd. His fears and doubts with enemy Lloyd felt real and in-character. My only complaint with Lloyd's arc is lack of mention of his genetic makeup. When the Arc Dragon of Life wonders why his new form is "different," I thought surely they'd explain it due to his dragon heritage. Not a deal breaker for me though. Overall, I'm really satisfied with this arc.

Zane had an awesome comeback- my fellow Zane fans rejoice! For three seasons we were presented with a stoic, robotic ice ninja who only spoke when something needed explained to the viewers. I'm uncertain whether the writers had this planned this comeback all along or if they heard our pleas and made do. If so, they came up with such a clever canon explanation for Zane's sudden lifeness that almost makes up for his complete disappearance in s3p2. No longer does he feel treated as an obligation. Despite minimal screen time (though, comparatively, way more than the previous two seasons), Zane's characterization feels much more natural and like his old self. I did find Pixal's sudden disappearance from the story a little bit forced but it's hard to complain when the couple's few scenes are the best we've gotten since season 3 part one.

Our next generation of ninja had an interesting time as well. While older fans might find it difficult to warm up to this new cast, I think that by this season we are well enough acquainted with them to enjoy their arcs. Season 4 felt less about their own personal struggles and more about the overarching plot, which has both benefits and downfalls. Sora x Frak was interestingly implied at the end of the last season, which I found silly then, but in season 4 they seem to have a little more chemistry. What was new, however, was Arin x Euphrasia. Euphrasia has always been more of a side character to me, though I think the writers intend for her to join the team permanently, much like Frak. I'm curious if their relationship will progress into more of a teacher/student relationship with him teaching her spinjitzu. My interest in these two new pairings is piqued, to say the least.

I talked about Jay a little bit before. It's safe to say we have our favorite couple back. Jay and Nya's dynamic seems fine, maybe a little bit forced. Subjectively, of course, that's been their case even before Dragons Rising so I can't blame the story. Either way, it's nice to have their arcs finally wrapped up and hopefully they get some alone time in part two.

I think Cole deserves a bit of a spotlight here, too. It was good to see a little more of him in this season, though he still feels a little overlooked. Mentioning his original role as leader of the team was a small surprise, as that's a little-discussed fact even among original fans.

Aesthetics

Dragons Rising has been rightfully praised for its animation quality. Season 1 particularly made use of lighting and colors in a way we'd never seen in a Lego show before. Motion-wise, the animation seems consistent with season one. It's smooth, snappy, and has a weighty feel, also unseen in Lego shows which naturally lean toward the stiffer side. Some of the fight scene choreography was so well done it went slightly viral a couple days ago. However, season 4 felt somehow lacking in the lighting/compositional aspect, perhaps not by frame but in a more overarching sense. Lighting and colors seemed a little inconsistent this time around, partly due to rapidly cutting between multiple different worlds. Though to be honest, this could totally just be me getting used to the style and no longer seeing it the same way. This is the best 3D animation we've gotten for Ninjago, so again, hard to complain.

I haven't seen anybody talking about Beatrix's little 2D animated backstory. I've always preferred the 2D animated styles Lego has put out over the years, and this one was a really fun surprise. It ties in with Legends: Monstrosity really well both visually and thematically, though a little less cinematic compositionally.

Something I want to bring up about this season visually is that, for lack of better words, everything was extremely "glowy." There is such a rainbow of magical glowing objects and environments in this series, to me, it can feel like too much. Between weapon gimmicks, elemental powers, and mystical environments, everything feels as if it's demanding you attention at once. By the time the second glowing tree showed up, I found my mind a little fatigued.

As far as the music goes, it's certainly on par with the rest of the seasons. Dragons Rising has an incredible score, with each part adding on to the rest. There's not too much to say about season 4 particularly until the tracks release officially, but there were a few moments where it stood out while watching. And we all enjoyed the return of the Weekend Whip, after it last appeared in the show in 2022's Crystalized.

Conclusion

So, as an entire whole, Dragons Rising season 4 so far has been about a 3/5 stars for me. There are some great things about it but unfortunately I have to do it justice on the scale, especially competing against my favorite original seasons. I find it just a little bit painful to watch, mostly due to it's rapid-fire pacing. Part two could have a positive effect on it, as well as where the super-plot of Dragons Rising is going. I do have to say, I'd name this season "The Season we are Officially Back" for multiple great improvements and callbacks. I will definitely keep watching the show, though I may never rewatch some of these episodes.

I understand that there are people who love Dragons Rising as well as those who despise it. I feel strongly a mix of both, a love/hate relationship you could say, which makes sense given I'm not exactly the target audience. Of course, these are my own opinions and are entirely subjective. I'm excited to see other people's reviews now that I've completed my own.