While Lloyd, Zane, Jay, Cole, Kai and Nya work to clean up the museum and unpack their new dojo after the events of the previous episode's devastation, they don't realize that Master Wu has left them alone to take on a threat he has been expecting for 40 years. It seems that soon after Serpentine Wars, two of the Elemental Masters that helped end the fighting turned on the rest. These two, Krux and Acronix, controlled the powers of time, and they considered themselves to not only have the most powerful abilities among the masters, but also the right to rule Ninjago. In order to stop the Twin Hands of Time, as they called themselves, the Elemental Masters forged weapons that could absorb the brothers' time powers. At the conclusion of that fight, one brother, Krux, disappeared while the other went into the future to the very time and place Wu waits for him at the start of this season.
Unfortunately, while Wu has grown wise and powerful in the intervening years, Acronix's youth, plus the possession of one of the four time blades, means that the time-controlling bad guy deals Wu a powerful attack that leaves the wizened master hurt and out of commission for all of this season's 10 episodes.
Acronix quickly meets up with his brother, who has been hiding as the curator for the same museum the ninja just left, and the two start plotting to not only rule over Ninjago, but also, because of Krux's attitude towards technology, to try and undo the past 40 years of technological progress. Unfortunately for Wu's students, the Hands of Time are building an army of snake fighters called the Vermillion Warriors, progeny of the Great Devourer, and they will be a tough force to contend with.
With Wu stuck in bed, Lloyd steps up to take command of the team. As a master-in-training, he finds that he has a lot of work ahead of him. While the others respect him as a fighter, it quickly becomes apparent that they don't quite take him seriously when he is giving out orders. Meanwhile, Kai finds clues about his parents that leave him questioning which side of the fight against the Hands of Time they were actually on. Among these clues is a mark in the Vermillion Warriors' armor that is the same stamp his father put on all of his works. Kai also struggles over telling his sister Nya, since she has her own problems when her old Samurai X armor goes missing. She suspects the Vermillion Warriors are behind the theft, especially since they are not only rounding up various builders from Ninjago City, but any loose metal they happen to find as well. Needless to say, she is surprised when a new Samurai X appears using her old tech, but who is the new fighter behind the mask, and are they friend or foe?
As the season progresses, it becomes clear that Krux and Acronix are trying to get their hands on the four time blades. As a result, when one of the powered weapons makes their presence known, it becomes a race against time (pardon the pun) between the ninja and the Vermillion Warriors. Before the season is over, the Hands of Time threat is more-or-less resolved, but it will lead to yet another mission for the team.
LEGO Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu is always a fun series to jump into and watch. While I've missed the last couple of seasons, most of the details that I needed to know in order to feel caught up for this particular set of adventures was covered when necessary in the show, so as long as you have a general idea of who the characters are, even being as out-of-the-loop as I have been isn't much of a hindrance to enjoying these ninja take on their next big enemies.
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided me with a copy of the DVD. The opinions I share are my own.
