Ice labyrinth

Not to be confused with another Ice Cave.

“I don't believe these reflections reveal our inability to escape, but a mere glimpse of our future selves.”

— Zane to the ninja, "Grave Danger"

Ice labyrinth
Information
Location	Tomb of the First Spinjitzu Master
First appearance	Grave Danger
Latest appearance	Way of the Departed (dream)

The ice labyrinth, also known as the ice maze or ice cave, is a labyrinth of reflective ice walls in the Tomb of the First Spinjitzu Master that show a reflection of an individual's future self.

History

Grave Danger

The ninja reached the ice labyrinth as the final test to procuring the Realm Crystal. When Zane walked by the ice walls, he noticed that he looked older in the reflection, as did Kai. They realized that it showed them how they would appear in the future. When Jay looked at his reflection, he saw that he would wear an eyepatch and that he would end up with Nya again. Cole tried to see himself but couldn't. Morro attacked the ninja, smashing through the ice wall, and they battled him using icicles. Kai eventually trapped him, and the ninja continued the test. They noticed a bright light below them and start to dig, causing them to fall down into the final cave.

Infamous

Through meditation, Wu taught Cole to turn invisible.

Jay spoke of his the reflection with Zane but not Cole, as he was not willing to risk his friendship with the latter. Jay's future knowledge would go on to influence his perceptions of the present, as he assumed any conflict with Nya was only temporary.

My Dinner With Nadakhan

When Clancee gave Jay an eyepatch, Jay remembered his future reflection.

Way of the Departed

Some time after returning to his human form, Cole would have a recurring dream where he was back in the previous events in the labyrinth, though this time he would see a reflection of his future self from after the Day of the Departed, in his human form again and with a green scar on his forehead. He would realize the scar was a rift and watch in horror as it would become more powerful and engulf his consciousness.

Abilities

The ice labyrinth shows a reflection from an important point in one's future. This explains why, while the other ninja saw themselves decades in the future, Cole's reflection-despite being in the same place as Zane's and Kai's-showed him in what must have been no more than a couple of months, as in the near future he would return to his human form, losing his ability to turn invisible.

It's unknown whether the walls shows a future that existed before the observer saw the reflection or a future where the observer has already seen the reflection. Jay's reflection influenced his actions and ultimately caused the events of an alternate timeline which ended with him and Nya getting back together, which was the essence of what he had seen in the first place to cause those events to happen. It's unknown whether this was always what was meant to happen or if an original future did not involve the Sky Pirates but still ended up with them together.

Visitors

• Morro
• Ninja
  • Cole
  • Jay
  • Kai
  • Zane

Appearances

Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu

Season 5: Possession

• 52. "Grave Danger"

Season 6: Skybound

• 55. "Infamous" (flashback)
• 60. "My Dinner With Nadakhan" (flashback)

Books

• Way of the Departed (dream)

Trivia

• Each ninja who was shown was wearing the same future robes, which look similar to the robes that Wu wore in the last few episodes of Possession and in the sets for that season.
• Lloyd (who was possessed by Morro at the time) and Cole are the only two who did not see what their future self looks like, while Nya's future reflection appeared but she was not present.
  • However, in the first episode of Skybound, Cole learned that the reason he never saw his future self isn't that he was a ghost, but rather because he was able to turn invisible.
    • It's also possible that he saw a reflection of when he was fading as seen in "Day of the Departed."
    • It's possible there is another reason.
    • It's possible the reflections showed multiple futures at once.
• Kai's future self shows age lines on his face.
  • His face appears nearly identical to that of his father, Ray, from the time of the Serpentine War, with the only differences being Ray's facial hair and the notch in Kai's eyebrow. However, present Ray, who has different eyebrows, is likely closer to the age in Kai's reflection.
• Zane's future self doesn't look any different, being a Nindroid.
• Jay's future self has a mustache, beard, and eyepatch. His Minifigure was featured in the 2018 Bricktober set 5005257 NINJAGO Minifigure Collection.
  • Though he wore an eyepatch in a few episodes of Skybound and one set, it looked different and did not appear after Skybound.
    • It's unknown if the future with Jay's eyepatch remained intact after the events were undone.
• Nya's future self is shown to have slightly longer hair and lines by her eyes. Her minifigure is set to appear in the Character Encyclopedia New Edition, though it is less accurate than Jay's, having golden shoulder armor, her original hair, and her movie face design.
• Morro did not see his reflection, as it would have given away his fate that he would soon be sent to the Departed Realm. In-universe, it was because he was focused on the ninja at the time.
• Jay's knowledge of his future reflection played a major role in Skybound and served as a common topic for conversation. In "Public Enemy Number One," after learning a Nadakhan was loose in Ninjago, Jay wondered if wishes were the means by which he ended up with Nya in the future. After Jay made two wishes, he admitted in "On a Wish and a Prayer" to Cole and later Lloyd and Nya in that he had seen himself with Nya in the future and had hoped his wishes could bring them together. When hiding out at Lighthouse Island in "The Last Resort," Jay and Nya repeatedly spoke of how the current events could relate to their future as seen in the reflection.
• With the new designs as of Sons of Garmadon, it would seem that the ninja's changes in appearance cause a plot hole with the reflections of their future selves. However, Tommy Andreasen has implied the ninja may still look like this in the future.
  • When asked about how the future reflections didn't seem to compare to the Season 8 designs, he replied "That reflection is like 50 years into the future … season 8 is not."
  • When someone said that Wu had altered the timeline in Season 7, he said "No he didn't. We did a design update. Shows do that and we will do so again sometime."
  • While this may be true in-universe, the appearances of the ninja will most likely not revert to their original designs within the show itself.
• The ice labyrinth is similar to a number of other objects or phenomena in the series:
  • The Mirror of Dread is similar to the ice walls, since they show the observer with a different appearance, only in one you see your future and the other your worst fear.
  • The ice walls are somewhat the opposite of the Perfect Match console, as the ice foretold Jay and Nya's relationship and ultimately caused the events which led to them being together, whereas the Perfect Match console caused a rift in their relationship by telling Nya that Cole was her perfect match.
  • The spirit smoke, the ninja's visions, and the Hearth Fire also foretell the future.
• Tommy Andreasen wanted to have the future variant of Jay to be part of the League of Jay in Season 12: Prime Empire, but the budget didn't allow it.
• According to Tommy Andreasen, the visions showed the ninja 40 or 50 years in the future.
• According to Tommy Andreasen, the ninja's reflections are literal, not symbolic, and he wishes to explain this at some point.

Gallery

In Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu

Season 5: Possession

The ice labyrinth.

Kai's future self.

Zane's future self.

Cole asking why he can't see his future self.

Jay and Nya's future selves.

Cole is unable to see his reflection.

Season 6: Skybound

Jay and Nya's future selves in "My Dinner With Nadakhan".