Season 1 of Ninjago is a good opener to the show. It establishes all of the Ninjas well and it follows up on the pilot episodes of the show in a great way, too. I was really surprised how well handled the season was in terms of the storylines. I never really imagined that I'd like the show this much on a rewatch, but there are a lot of cool and well-written things in this season whether it has to do with the characters or the overall plot of the show. For characters, this season does a ton with its 13 episodes. Zane gets a great arc, as he's constantly called weird and odd, yet we find out that he's actually a robot and one of the coolest members of the team. Cole has a great episode dealing with his father, and the season spends a ton of time delving into Kai and pays it off nicely with him being the one to figure out Lloyd is the Green Ninja. The concept of the Green Ninja is a great idea itself. I love the idea that there's some epic dude Ninja, and it being prophetic is also really cool. Revealing it to be Lloyd not only is good because it makes it so the four Ninjas are still equals, but it gives Lloyd a lot of cool stuff in the final few episodes, and the way the show handles his inevitable fight with his father is exciting. Garmadon himself gets some cool stuff. I like how much he cares about his son, and how much he still respects him even knowing the two are destined to fight each other. Unfortunately, not all of the characters are that good. A lot of the Serpentine are annoying (except Pythor, he's epic), and Jay is a character who, while fun, really gets nothing. His episode where he uncovers his true potential is easily the worst of the season and it just feels overall like a dull outing for his character. He's just the cool inventor guy who wants to bang Nya. Cool. Nya is a mixed bag, I love the Samurai X storyline, but it gets revealed too quickly and it never pays off much besides a few moments in the final leg of the season. The pacing of the season is also kinda poor. The first six episodes are great and really build up the Serpentine piece by piece until Pythor comes out with his big plan to release the Great Devourer. After this, the season's plot takes a complete freeze. The next four episodes all follow the same formula - Pythor continues his plan, a ninja gets in trouble and discovers their true potential, the episode ends with Pythor closer to his plan. I feel like it'd have been better if they split up the episodes where the Ninjas discovered their true potential. I wish one discovered it in the finale or something. Having each episode come right after the other just felt repetitive and like the season was on pause. Still, episodes 10, 11, and 12 are great and pick up the pace a lot to dive into the main storyline of the season. And while the finale isn't as great as I would've wanted, the resolution to the season is satisfying. I'm super pumped to rewatch Season 2, since it's the season I have the most nostalgia for. Best episode: Tick Tock (episode 7) Worst episode: Once Bitten, Twice Shy (episode 8)