Overview
The Belly of the Beast is the fourth episode of the eleventh season of Ninjago and the 102nd episode overall. It aired on June 29, 2019, in the United States, on July 29, 2019, in Australia and on August 17, 2019, in Canada. It was paired up with "A Rocky Start."
Synopsis
Synopsis[]
To repair the Land-Bounty, the ninja must retrieve a critical engine component that has been swallowed by a giant scarab beetle.[1]
Extended: The ninja are hard at work trying to repair the Land-Bounty when they make an unpleasant discovery. A critical engine component is missing. Zane surmises that the component was ingested by Beohernie during the attack and proposes a startling course of action: one of them must volunteer to be ingested, in order to retrieve the engine component from the belly of the beast. This sets off a round of heated debate as the ninja argue over who should be ingested. Ultimately, Zane volunteers since A) it's his plan, and B) being a nindroid, he will be slower to digest. In a frightening sequence, Zane allows himself to be swallowed, retrieves the engine component, and is pulled out by the other ninja, who have rigged up Cole's Dirt Bike like an enormous fishing spool to reel Zane back out...[2]
Plot
Plot[]
On the rock cluster, Beohernie has the ninja trapped on an island floating in an inescapable ocean of sand. All the while, Zane is attempting to repair the Land Bounty and Jay and Nya are working through the Land Bounty’s cockpit when Jay notice the birds circling above. Zane tells him they are carrion birds that are patiently waiting for the opportunity of a feast to present itself, which lowers Jay’s morale more than it already is at this point. Nya is trying to send an SOS to P.I.X.A.L. to no avail. Lloyd walks in with supplies asking for a progress report, to which Nya says she has no luck due to a malfunction with the long-range transmitter she can’t figure out. Lloyd tells Nya not to give up and heads outside to put his supplies with the rest of it where Cole and Kai are waiting for him.
The situation appears grim as Kai sees they only have less than a day’s supply of water, and Cole points out that the ATV and the Land Bounty are wrecked. The Rock Cycle still works, but it only seats one and will never outrun any of those bloodthirsty scarabs. Lloyd proposes Nya could draw some water out of the air, but Cole says that’ll never work in a scorching desert with no humidity. The guys then notice Jay chiseling on a nearby rock, who tells them he’s taking the liberty of leaving a message so that people know who they are when they find their bones. Lloyd tries to tell everyone to be more optimistic, but Zane confirms there is as little optimism to go around as there is supplies, saying their situation is dire. He reports that his repair efforts have revealed that the thermalytic kinetic inverter, a critical engine component needed to drive the Land Bounty, is missing. Zane suspects that when Beohernie ripped through the haul, he tore out the inverter and swallowed it. To make matters worse, they can’t replace it because the ATV’s inverter was damaged in the attack, and the Rock Cycle’s inverter is inadequate for a vehicle the size the of Land Bounty. Meanwhile, Jay complains that the situation is hopeless and kicks some rocks down the slope in annoyance. What Jay doesn’t know is that he was walking straight into Beohernie, who had been busy burrowing beneath the sand waiting for just the right moment to attack. Jay is snatched up by Beohernie ready to be devoured, but the rest of the ninja grab on tight just in time. They can’t pull him from Beohernie’s iron grip, but a well-aimed fire blast from Kai sends him burrowing back into the sand, leaving Jay traumatized, but otherwise unscathed. Lloyd elects that for now, their best course of action is to keep off the sand.
Later that night, the ninja sit around a campfire where Zane explains the only plan he can think of: Considering how slow the digestive system of a scarab beetle is, there is the good possibility that the inverter is still intact. Which means if one of them were to be purposely eaten by Beohernie, it can be retrieved. Cole, Jay, and Nya all believe this plan is insane, but with all the facts taken together, mostly that getting that component back is the only way to start the Land Bounty, it’s the only shot they have of getting out of this. Lloyd considers it, seeing as how there are no other ideas. After arguing for some time about who should go, they finally decide to do a game of rock-paper-scissors. In the end, Zane is chosen. The others are worried for him, but he points out that his nindroid physiology makes him able to withstand any degree of digestion.
The next day, the ninja are ready to put their plan in motion, and run it again before initiating their mission: Using the rock cycle as a makeshift fishing reel and a rope tied around his waist, Zane bangs a metal pot, attracting Beohernie’s attention. Once the beetle eats him and he arrives in the stomach, he radios a message to pull him back out as soon as he finds the inverter. Ready to begin, he clatters loudly on purpose so that Beohernie senses his presence. Just when it looks like no one is coming, Beohernie rises quickly from the sand and consumes Zane, and then burrows again as quickly as he arrived. The ninja are stunned to witness one of their own being devoured by a giant scarab, but nonetheless stay focused. Nya radios Zane, requesting a status report, but no one answers, leaving everyone in agony to wait.
Inside Beohernie, Zane is having another nightmare about a fiery Serpentine and an ice dragon. Waking up, Zane finds himself in the literal belly of the beast; on an island surrounded by deadly acid. After accidentally knocking a human skull off the edge and witnessing it sink into the acid, Zane starts to believe what he’s doing wasn’t such a good idea after all.
Back on the surface, almost an hour has passed and the ninja have yet to hear back from Zane. Cole says they need to pull him back out before it’s too late, but Lloyd and Kai agree they need to simply await Zane’s signal in case he still needs to find the inverter. Just then, they receive his signal and Zane reports that he has located the inverter. With that, the ninja are ready to reel him out.
Cole starts the Rock Cycle and starts reeling in the rope, but Beohernie refuses to give up without a fight. Just then, Beohernie rises from the sand, but still refuses to relent. The train on the rope threatens to burn out the Rock Cycle’s engine, which if doing so would mean losing Zane. Worse yet, the force exerted by Beohernie causes the Rock Cycle to break free of its braces to the rocks. Using a grappling hook, Nya manages to secure a hold on the Rock Cycle and the Ninja are able to use that to keep Beohernie from dragging them in. However, Beohernie’s force causes Cole to fall out of his vehicle and onto the sand, where the other two beetles surface and ready to attack. However, one proves no match against Cole’s geokinesis, and the other is repelled by an energy blast from Lloyd. Riding the tether as a zip line, Jay blasts some lightning at Beohernie to disorient him. Finally on equal terms with the giant scarab, Kai shoots a barrage fireballs at Beohernie's belly, causing him to gag and finally regurgitate Zane. Unscathed (albeit covered in phlegm), Zane reports that he has retrieved the inverter, also unscathed.
With the component recovered, the ninja reattach it to the Land Bounty and charge off full speed, outrunning the other scarab beetles and resuming their quest.
Appearances
Appearances[]
Characters[]
Cast[]
- Aspheera - Pauline Newstone
- Cole - Kirby Morrow
- Jay - Michael Adamthwaite
- Kai - Vincent Tong
- Lloyd Garmadon - Sam Vincent
- Nya - Kelly Metzger
- Zane - Brent Miller
Creatures[]
Events[]
- Siege at the Monastery (dream)
Items[]
Vehicles[]
Locations[]
- Ninjago
- Desert of Doom
- Pyramid (dream)
- Mountains of Impossible Height (dream)
- Desert of Doom
- Never-Realm (dream)
Species[]
Trivia
Trivia[]
- Narrator: Zane
- The episode is titled "Enter the Beetle" for the audiobook version, which may have been a working title.
- The title of the episode is a reference to the phrase, "Belly of the beast", which means being in the middle of a bad situation.
- The title was previously said by Garmadon in "Curseworld, Part II," when he told Lloyd, "Son, you're in the belly of the beast."
- Using the Ninjago alphabet, the first word Jay carved was "ninja."
- Jay's scream for help was previously used in "The Snake King."
- This is the first episode where Jay says that he loves Nya.
Continuity[]
- This is the first episode of the series where Zane narrates the title card, though he also narrated the Decoded title cards.
- This episode shows that Kai thinks Jay is expendable, and that he thinks Zane and Lloyd are valuable to the team.
- However, Kai was probably just messing with Jay.
- When the ninja argue after Kai says Jay is expendable, audio from the ninja arguing early in "Can of Worms" is reused, specifically the part where Cole says, "I am naturally the born leader."
- Lloyd's line, "Let's settle this like adults" only for the ninja to play rock-paper-scissors to decide who was to venture inside of Beohernie is a reference to "The Stone Army," where a similar situation plays out to decide who would have to clean up the Ultra Dragon's mess, as well as later having to deal with the Giant Stone Warrior.
- However, instead of playing "rock-paper-clamp", they play rock-paper-scissors.
- This also shows how they play the game despite their lack of fingers: a rock is a closed hand, paper is an opened hand and scissors is similar to rock but the hand is turned sideways.
- This episode marks the first time of the Teapot of Tyrahn appears as an easter egg in the WildBrain seasons. It can be seen in within Beohernie's stomach, and is later seen being spat out by the beast when Zane escapes.
- On a side note, the Blade Cup can also be seen in Beohernie's stomach.
Errors[]
- In the first shot of Zane inside Beohernie's stomach, his shoulder armor is temporarily missing.
