Day of the Departed

Day of the Departed is the ninth installment of the Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu series. It was a special episode originally released on October 29th, 2016. Cole is the focus character for this season and Sensei Yang is the main antagonist. Yang's students serve as the villainous faction.

It is the fifth installment in the Master Trials arc. It focuses on Cole as he struggles to hold onto reality. In this special, he learns how to be "seen," and in the end becomes human again. A special minifigure was released for this season, being Cole's RX form. The collectible weapons in this installment are the Departed Blades.

It is preceded by The Dark Island Trilogy and followed by The Hands of Time.

Plot Summary
On the Day of the Departed, the ninja hurriedly travel across the Sea of Sand, en route to the Ninjago Museum of History. Upon their arrival, Wu reminds them of the holiday's significance: for remembering fallen ancestors and cherishing family. Dr. Saunders arrives, greeting Wu and the ninja before presenting the museum's new exhibit, the Hall of Villainy, which houses life-sized mannequins of the major villains fought by the ninja over the years, as well as a plaque describing the rare Yin-Yang lunar eclipse. Cole finds a painting of Master Yang, as well as the Yin Blade, which is on display. Cole calls out to Saunders and asks what the weapon is but realizes nobody is paying attention to him. Cole hears Yang's voice imploring him to "close the circle." Realizing he's fading away as one of the departed, Cole takes the Yin Blade and sets off to face Yang.

The ninja divide for their own personal memorials: Lloyd and Misako commemorate Garmadon at the Corridor of Elders; Kai and Nya remember their mother and father at their blacksmith shop; Zane remembers his father in Birchwood Forest; Jay spends time with his mom and dad at their junkyard, and Wu goes to the old monastery to remember his father. Realizing everyone is out celebrating, Ronin decides to steal from the deserted houses. Cole arrives at the Temple of Airjitzu, which is still floating in the sky. Cole confronts Yang, who he attempts to strike with the Yin Blade but misses, instead of smashing it into an orb.

Consequently, the Departed Realm is opened, and the spirits of the ninja's old enemies escape while Cole is detained by Yang's students. The spirits possess five of the six mannequins in the Hall of Villainy, bringing them to life. Speaking through a painting, Yang tells the villains they can remain in Ninjago by slaying the ninja that defeated them. Pythor then enters the museum and joins the villains as they discuss who to go after. Chen chooses to go after Kai and Nya, Pythor chooses Lloyd, Cryptor chooses Zane, Morro chooses Wu, and Kozu chooses Dareth, which leaves Samukai with facing Jay. Pythor proposes they gather reinforcements from the Hall of Sidekicks to better have the chance of defeating their enemies.

Cole is imprisoned in Yang's temple, where he learns of Yang's history. Yang taught his students to master Airjitzu, and around this time he found the Yin Blade, which contains enough dark magic to imbue immortality. Yang tested the blade on himself, but its powers backfired, turning him and his students into ghosts and defacing his temple. Yang then reveals to Cole that he plans to use the Yin Blade to tear open the Rift of Return to revive himself, while the revived villains distract the ninja so they won't thwart his plans as Cole realizes his friends are in danger because of him.

At that moment, the villains begin their attack on the ninja all around Ninjago. With help from Eyezor and Zugu, Chen uses his dinosaur mech to attack Kai and Nya, who flee on the Raider Bikes. Cryptor and three Nindroids confront Zane in the snowy forest. Meanwhile, Samukai fights Jay as Krazi and Frakjaw apprehend his parents, and Pythor fights Lloyd and holds the latter's mother captive. Kozu and several Stone Swordsmen confront Dareth, who was responsible for taking control of the Stone Army.

Wu gets a bad feeling as Morro confronts him, though Wu is pained at having to fight his former student again, he states that he won't hesitate to do it again. However, Morro reveals he really has no intention of revenge; instead he tells Wu of Yang's plan and they set off to reunite the ninja.

Back at the Temple of Airjitzu, Cole breaks free and makes his way up through the temple after escaping his captors, fighting Yang's students along the way as Yang opens the Rift of Return. One by one, the ninja defeat all the revived villains, except Pythor, who flees after realizing he can't win his fight. In the meantime, Yang does Airjitzu to reach the Rift, but Cole stops him, and a fight breaks out between them.

The ninja reunite at the museum, telling each other what happened before Wu arrives with Morro, who the ninja prepare to attack but Wu stops them and Morro proves his innocence by unveiling Yang's plan and how the ninja forgot Cole. The ninja journey to Yang's temple while Morro's spirit peacefully returns to the Departed Realm. Cole battles Yang as the ninja fly over on the Bounty. Yang soon overpowers Cole and mocks him as being another forgotten ghost. However, with his friends approaching and calling out to him, Cole's heightened vigor makes his arms rock-solid, and with them, he shatters the Yin Blade. This act frees Yang's students from his control, while Cole tells them to cross through the Rift, and after they do they become human again. Yang admits he failed his students and wanted to live forever so no one would forget him, to which Cole says he'll be remembered as the creator of Airjitzu.

Cole then persuades Yang to accompany him through the rift. Together, they ascend towards the Rift, but Yang tells Cole it's impossible. The curse of the Temple needs someone to remain in the temple as a ghost to be the "master of the house" due to the curse. Yang then decides to settle his own "debts" and launches the confused Cole through the Rift, just as it starts to close. The shockwave of the Rift closing causes Destiny Bounty to have a hard landing at the Airjitzu temple. The ninja soon start to worry if Cole didn't make it in time, as Jay states he'd give anything to have his friend back. At that moment, Cole emerges from behind a rock, a human again, while asking Jay will include the Sonic Raider Jet.

The ninja celebrate the return of their friend before looking at the restored Temple of Airjitzu which Cole suggests they make into their new base. Not long after, the ninja and their allies gather around a fire outside of Yang's temple after Cole told the story. Jay asks him if he was going to tell the story every time the holiday comes to which Cole replies only if Jay admits he was scared the temple was still haunted to which the latter states that were the case but says he was wrong as there are no more ghost. Cole confirms this while looking back to the temple and winks at Yang, who stands inside and winks back in return. Those surrounding the fire let their lanterns float into the night sky, concluding their celebration.

Characters

 * Chen - Ian James Corlett
 * Cole - Kirby Morrow
 * Cryptor - Richard Newman
 * Dareth - Alan Marriott
 * Doctor Sander Saunders - Michael Daingerfield
 * Ed Walker - Colin Murdock
 * Edna Walker - Jillian Michaels
 * Jay - Michael Adamthwaite
 * Kai - Vincent Tong
 * Kozu - Paul Dobson
 * Lloyd Garmadon - Jillian Michaels
 * Misako - Kathleen Barr
 * Morro - Andrew Francis
 * Nya - Kelly Metzger
 * P.I.X.A.L. - Jennifer Hayward
 * Pythor P. Chumsworth - Michael Dobson
 * Ronin - Brian Dobson
 * Samukai - Michael Kopsa
 * Wu - Paul Dobson
 * Yang - Michael Donovan
 * Zane - Brent Miller

Battles

 * Kai & Nya vs. Master Chen
 * Zane vs. General Cryptor
 * Lloyd & Misako vs. Pythor
 * Jay vs. Samukai
 * Dareth vs. General Kozu
 * Cole vs. Yang's Students
 * Cole vs. Sensei Yang

Locations Visited

 * Ninjago
 * Ninjago City
 * Ninjago Museum of History
 * Sea of Sand
 * Ed & Edna's Scrap N Junk
 * Ignacia
 * Four Weapons Blacksmith
 * Mountains of Impossible Height
 * Monastery of Spinjitzu
 * Temple of Airjitzu
 * Echo Canyons
 * Corridor of Elders
 * Birchwood Forest
 * Departed Realm (portal)

Sets
Cole is the mascot ninja, and the collectible items were the Departed Blades, except the Sword of Sanctuary.


 * 70751 Temple of Airjitzu
 * 70588 Titanium Ninja Tumbler
 * 70589 Rock Roader
 * 70590 Airjitzu Battle Grounds
 * 70592 Salvage M.E.C.
 * 70595 Ultra Stealth Raider
 * 70596 Samurai X Cave Chaos

Continuity

 * The golden statue of a Hypnobrai general, which was previously seen in "Winds of Change" shortly before Morro possessed Lloyd, can be seen at the entrance of the Hall of Villainy.
 * The Helmet of Shadows makes its return in this episode, having last appeared in "Rise of the Spinjitzu Master." In its last appearance, it served the same purpose—for Dareth to control the Stone Army.
 * This is the first installment in the series that makes reference to Cole's deceased mother. When lighting a candle with his father, Lou, they light it for his mother Lilly.
 * In the first draft of the script, Cole and Lou were going to light a lantern for Cole's aunt, but it was changed to imply it was his mother. In "Attack of the Cursed Specters", however, the first draft of the script was used.
 * Almost every main antagonist from installments past return in this special.
 * Samukai returns from the Departed Realm, having been destroyed by the Golden Weapons of Spinjitzu in The Golden Weapons. When Samukai is defeated, his soul is returned to the Departed Realm.
 * Pythor returns from out of the blue and decides to fight with Lloyd. This is his attempt to take over Ninjago, in reference to a line he said in the episode The Corridor of Elders. When Pythor is defeated, he runs off, not to be seen again.
 * General Kozu returns from the Departed Realm, having been destroyed following the Overlord's defeat in The Ultimate Spinjitzu Master. At his defeat, his soul is returned to the Departed Realm.
 * General Cryptor returns from the Departed Realm, also having been destroyed following the Overlord's defeat in The Titanium Ninja. At his defeat, his soul is returned to the Departed Realm.
 * Master Chen returns from the Departed Realm, having been killed along with the Cursed Realm in Curseworlds, Part II. At his defeat, his soul is returned to the Departed Realm.
 * At one point, Kai asks Nya if she thinks that they'll ever find out what actually happened to their parents. This hints to the next season, The Hands of Time, where the siblings do find out what actually happened to their parents.
 * Morro returns from the Departed Realm, also having been killed along with the Cursed Realm in Curseworlds, Part II. In line with the events of that episode, he remains redeemed, and attempts to help Wu defeat the other villains and save Cole. After all is said and done, his soul is returned to the Departed Realm.
 * Nadakhan does not make a return due to the fact that he still remains inside of the Teapot of Tyrhann.
 * Clouse does not make a return due to the fact that he is still trapped within the Underworld.
 * This marks the first appearance of Doctor Sander Saunders, curator of the Ninjago Museum of History. While it is unknown at the time, he is actually the faux identity of Krux, one of the Time Twins.
 * Lloyd and Misako visit the Corridor of Elders to honor Garmadon.
 * Cole officially returns to human form in this special, having been a ghost since the events of Temple on Haunted Hill.
 * As a result of passing through the rift into the Departed Realm, on his forehead remains a remnant of the rift.
 * Cole also unlocks his RX ability (also known as his Earth Punch,) which becomes his signature move for the rest of the series.
 * Yang remains a ghost at the end and leaves his Temple for the Ninja to reside in, putting aside their differences finally.
 * At the end of the special Cole is seen telling the story of this episode to the Ninja, and Jay is annoyed that he's telling it. The writers imply that this can be interpreted as Cole telling them the story in the future, but since the Ninja's designs change in two seasons, it is highly unlikely.
 * This special establishes that the Departed Realm isn't completely and utterly closed off. This will be used in future plot points featured in Seasons 8 and 11.