Return to Imperium

“I don't know about we, but I know what I've gotta do. I created that thing. I have to be the one to destroy it.”
“But, how...”
“I have to go back to Imperium.”
— Sora and Arin

Return to Imperium is the sixth episode of the first season of Ninjago: Dragons Rising.

Synopsis

Synopsis[]

LEGO's YouTube channel[]

Full episode[]

Sora discovers an invention from her past is being used for evil and leads a mission to the Imperium, but she, Arin, Lloyd, and Riyu get separated.

After a cataclysm changes their world forever, new and old Ninja must team up to save all the realms from high-tech villains bent on domination.

Streaming services[]

Netflix[]

When the Ninja meet their match in a Photac — an indestructible techno-beast — Sora believes that a mission to Imperium is the only way to destroy it.[1]

Extended synopsis from Now TV[]

Another clash with Rapton leads Sora to believe that the Imperium has completed a dangerous invention from her past. A flashback shows Sora's youth as a rising star in the tech world until she discovers her invention will be used for evil. In the present, Sora returns home with Lloyd, Arin, and Riyu, but the four get split up. Sora runs into a figure from her past while Arin hides Riyu and Lloyd meets a new Elemental Master.[2]

Plot

Plot[]

restraining the

Rapton restraining the dragon

Rapton and the Claws of Imperium attack Jiro at the Crossroads junkyard before the ninja show up to stop them. When Rapton activates a holographic device, it surprises Sora, who says it's a Photac, an invention she created back when she lived in Imperium. In the confusion, the Claws of Imperium successfully manage to grab the dragon.

original puppy

Ana's original Photac puppy

Prior to the Merge, Sora, who went by her real name, Ana, originally created the Photac, which displayed interactive globes, as a school project, before her teacher, Mr. Koenig, told her not to deviate from mandated curriculum, as dictated by the decree of the Empress Beatrix. Regardless, Ana worked on a second version, and at her school's science fair, shows it off, first displaying a fish, then a puppy. This allowed her to win the science fair. While celebrating with her parents, Ana is approached by her idol, Dr. LaRow, who wants to hire her.

The ninja plan their infiltration

The ninja plan their infiltration

Back at the monastery, Sora plans to return to Imperium to disable the Photac, but Arin insists on coming along as they have been together since the Merge. Riyu also wants to come with Lloyd voicing his concern since Arin and Sora are still in training before Arin reminds the former of Wu's saying, "Ninja sharpens ninja." Convinced, Lloyd decides to come along as well and has Kai stay behind to watch for MergeQuakes.

The upgraded Photac

The upgraded Photac

Not long after she was offered a position in the Advanced Systems Lab, Dr. LaRow gives Ana a tour of it before introducing her to Imperium's power source: A dragon, whose designation is Subject 152 stroke 9A, or Sora by some scientists. Dr. LaRow then reveals that her Photac can be used to capture more dragons, once they’re upgraded to display ferocious creatures, shocking Ana, who calls Dr. LaRow a monster and leaves. Upon returning home, Ana's parents express their disappointment in her and they were ashamed to even call her their daughter. From then on, Ana was shunned upon by everyone, as well as her parents, who demand she find a new interest after they confiscated her work bench. In retaliation, Ana gets rid of anything related to Dr. LaRow in her room.

In the study, Lloyd, Arin, and Sora try to think of how to enter Imperium as they can't walk in through the front entrance and every other entrance will be under surveillance before Riyu shows up with a soda can, leading Arin to suggest the sewage system with Sora believing it won't be surveilled.

However, they were immediately discovered and made a hasty getaway from some Imperium Drones, until they reach a shaft to the Security Station, where Sora hacks into the mainframe to create false identities for the three. Arin going with Dr. Lampshade Floortile, looking at a light and floor tiles, Lloyd going with Doyll Donmagar, an anagram of his real name, and Sora going with her own with the addition of Surname before they swiftly evade a checking Imperium Guard.

, , and disguised as

Lloyd, Arin, and Sora disguised as Imperians

Grabbing some spare clothes, adding markings to their faces, and hiding Riyu in a backpack for Arin to carry, they are immediately halted by another guard, who demands their I.D.s before they show him. Briefly cleared, they were soon stopped again, due to them not wearing shoulder pads on a weekday. The guard immediately escorts them to the Public Shaming Platform, where they were to be publicly shamed, with Sora worried that Lord Ras and the Claws of Imperium will know it's them and her parents will know she's back. Before it could begin, Riyu jumps out of the backpack and attacks the guard, giving them enough time to split up. Lloyd, Arin, and Riyu would distract the guards while Sora heads to the lab and destroys the Photacs.

Lloyd faces the

Lloyd faces the mystery prisoner

Lloyd ends up separated from Arin and Riyu when he overhears some guards being frightened by a prisoner's flame attacks. Assuming it was Kai, Lloyd heads for the cell where it was coming from and opens it, before becoming surprised that it's not Kai as he is soon attacked by the prisoner.

Sora reunites with

Sora reunites with Dr. LaRow

As she ran through the streets of Imperium, Sora remembers the day of the Merge, where she wished she was somewhere else, right as the Merge occurred. When it was over, she saw Ninjago City in the distance before making the decision to abandon her given name, parents, and home. Reaching the lab, Sora sneaks through the scientists and comes across a Photac. Before she can destroy it, Dr. LaRow confronts her, addressing her by her real name.

Appearances

Appearances[]

Characters[]

Cast[]

Non-speaking[]

Mentioned[]

Miscellaneous[]

Creatures[]

Items[]

Vehicles[]

Events[]

  • The Merge (flashback)
    • MergeQuakes (mentioned)

Locations[]

Species[]

Trivia

Trivia[]

  • Doyll Donmagar, Lloyd's fake ID name, is "Lloyd" spelled backwards with the O and the Y swapped and "Garmadon" with the syllables rearranged in reverse order.
    • However, seeing how the guard pronounced his last name as "Don-mi-gar," it is implied that either Sora accidentally misspelled it, or the guard simply mispronounced it.
  • Sora's ID name reads "Sora Surname" in Ninjargon.

Continuity[]

  • Sora's past with Imperium is revealed, as is her birth name Ana.
  • Arin remarks how Lloyd told them how Master Wu told his students how ninja sharpens ninja. A similar saying, "Iron sharpens iron, and sibling sharpens sibling," is used with different variations throughout the series.
  • The title was once a line spoken by Ras in "The Merge: Part 2."
  • When Kai mocks the attitude that Master Wu used to have towards the ninja, he remarks how Wu would tell them to stop playing video games and clean their rooms. This is a reference to the beginning of the episode "Rise of the Snakes", when Wu turned the ninja's video game off and told them to pick up after themselves.
  • This is the first episode in Dragons Rising to have Lloyd wearing a disguise and the second time he does it to break into the city of the enemy. The first time was in "The Snake King".
    • Coincidentally, both times happened in the sixth episode of both series.
  • This episode marks the second time the name "Garmadon" has been rearranged to spell something else. The first time was in "Ninjaball Run" where its revealed that Garmadon made a fake company called "Darnagom Enterprises" in order to prevent the Ninja from training Lloyd.
    • Coincidentally, both situations involved Lloyd in some way. The first was to prevent the Ninja from training him, and the second was when he, Arin, Sora and Riyu tried to break into the Advanced Systems Lab to destroy the Photacs.

Errors[]

  • When Arin asks Sora how she knows what the Photac is, he can be heard speaking with Lloyd's voice.
  • In the shot where the Ninja approach Jiro to disable the Imperium Drones holding him, Kai's character model can be seen clipping through his Spinjitzu tornado.
Videos

Videos[]

Translations

Translations[]

Language Name
Arabic العودة الى امبريام
Chinese (Simplified) 重返帝国
Chinese (Traditional) 重回帝權王國
Czech Návrat do Impéria
Dutch Terug naar Imperium
Finnish Paluu Imperiumiin
French Retour à Impérium
German Rückkehr nach Imperium
Indonesian Kembali ke Imperium
Italian Ritorno a Imperium
Japanese 決めた! ソラ、インぺリウム王国に帰る
Polish Powrót do Imperium
Portuguese Retorno a Imperium
Ukrainian Повернення до Імперіуму
Turkish Imperium'a Dönüş
References

References[]

  1. ↑ https://www.netflix.com/title/81519765
  2. ↑ https://www.nowtv.com/watch/ninjago-dragons-rising/iYEQYZfjU8Mz2WENgF78Pw/seasons/1/episodes/6/A5EK3TJRBXptAcQ5sHdjU