Lego Ninjago: Dragons Rising – Episode 3 Recap & Review

Crossroads Carnival

Episode 3 of Lego Ninjago: Dragons Rising begins with a brand new day, marking the beginning of training. The kids try to convince Green Ninja to take them to the carnival, but he claims they need to train and unveil the magnificent training grounds. He challenges them to start training on a time trial.

Arin meticulously crosses the obstacle courses, but Sora struggles to cover the course. They practice until the evening before taking a break for the day. Sora is exhausted from the training and suggests they can sneak out to the carnival, and she convinces Arin to do so.

The group arrives at the Crossroads with Riyu in disguise. They explore the various stalls at the carnival. They rush to submit their pie before the deadline and run into Grab-Barg. They see a few thugs nab Lobbo. Arin latches onto their car and gets pulled along. Riyu grants Sora the elemental powers, allowing her to reassemble the Mech and follow Arin.

Back at the monastery, Green Ninja realizes they have snuck out to the carnival and heads out to look for them. The thugs bring Lobbo before Kreel, and she demands the prize money. Arin and Sora show up and stop Kreel. Kreel commands her minions to attack the two, and a fight breaks out. Lobbo gobbles up all the gold in his sack.

This angers Kreel, and she claims she wants to save her right-hand minion, Targle, who was kidnapped. Arin proposes that they will help her track Targle if she lets Lobbo go.

Green Ninja searches the carnival, stumbles upon a memorial tent, and inquires what it is about. He realizes it is a way of honoring them, and he feels appreciated.

The kids arrive at the location of the ransom drop and find a secret path to a theater. Entering the theater they see Kreel’s minions trapped in a cage. Green Ninja finds a trail of carpet bits and follows it.

Doroma pops out and initiates a sequence of traps, which the two meticulously dodge. Doroma claims he can extract vibrant colors from whack rats, which he uses in his fireworks. He then goes on to attack the kids. Arin escapes, manages to stop the traps from firing, and saves Sora.

Dorama reveals a large puppet monster which begins to attack and grabs Arin. Just then Green Ninja arrives and sets Arin free. Arin uses Spinjitsu to hurl a horn at the giant puppet and free Sora. Green Ninja manages to get junk into the giant puppet’s gears and destroy it.

They hold down Doroma and free Targle. Upon returning Targle to Kreel she releases Lobbo and they make their way to the pie competition. Unfortunately, Arin doesn’t win the competition. They, however, plan to explore the rest of the carnival before training starts the next day.

Lord Ras arrives and frees Doroma, claiming he has to follow orders and help.

The Episode Review

Episode 3 of Lego Ninjago: Dragons Rising takes us through the first day of training under Green Ninja and an adventure after the three sneak out at night. It is often said that bad decisions make good stories, and rightfully so.

Although the chapter takes us through an interesting series of events, the idea that everything always works out heavily taints it, giving it a warm and fuzzy feeling. Certain parts are quite unrealistic; a perfect example is Green Ninja finding a trail made of bits of his carpet.

Also, the very fact that they covered the dragon with a carpet and a basket on his head as a blend is quite absurd. I agree that it is a kid’s show and things that do not make sense happen all the time. But that still needs to be reconciled with the other elements of the show.