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You will not hurt my friends. There is nothing that will hold me back. I know who I am.”
Zane when unlocking his True Potential

Tick Tock is the seventh episode of the first season of Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu. It aired on Cartoon Network on February 22, 2012 in the United States.

Synopsis[]

When the four ninja follow the mysterious falcon into the woods, they stumble on a hidden work shop where Zane learns the secret about his past and in the process, he is the first ninja to unlock his true potential.[1]

Plot[]

MoS7ZaneWater

Zane underwater

After Zane breaks his previous record for holding his breath underwater, the ninja wonder if they have reached their full potential. They seek out Sensei Wu, who tells them that they have only reached their physical peak; their true potential requires mental enlightenment as well.

Sensei Wu recounts a story from his childhood. One day, while he and his brother were playing outside, Wu lost his katana and Garmadon sought to find it, knowing their father would not be pleased. Garmadon found the katana eventually, but upon reaching down to pick it up, he was bitten by a snake known as the Great Devourer, kickstarting his descent into darkness. After telling his story, Sensei Wu declares that he is going on a journey by himself, and the ninja drop him off at a mountain.

MoS7Missing

The sign about the missing Fangblade

Later on, the ninja travel to Jamanakai Village with Nya to post signs about the missing Fangblades. As Zane is posting signs, he sees the Falcon. He and the ninja follow it, but soon the others are too tired to go on. Zane proceeds into a frosted forest when the Falcon suddenly drops to the snowy ground.

Zane picks it up and is shocked to see that the bird is actually mechanical. He is then ambushed by a large robot, but quickly destroys it and notices that the Falcon and the robot have the same mysterious symbol printed on them. Zane proceeds into a hollow tree and discovers a workshop inside. While searching through the building, he finds a blueprint and drops to his knees, crying out in horror.

Meanwhile, Sensei Wu enters Mystake's Tea Shop and requests Traveler's Tea. The owner claims not to have heard of it, but upon receiving payment, brings out a pot and warns Master Wu that those who drink the tea do not return. Back in the forest, the ninja find Zane inside the tree and ask why he is distressed. Zane suddenly opens up his torso, revealing that he is actually a robot. The ninja assure him that he is still their brother, but Zane, still quite shaken by the revelation, asks to be left alone. Kai, Jay, and Cole leave the workshop, but are soon attacked by Treehorns.

Treehorn1

The ninja surrounded by Treehorns

Inside the workshop, Zane takes another look at his blueprints and, upon realizing he has a memory switch, flips it on. This causes him to remember being built by his father, Dr. Julien, and all the different things he taught him over the years. He also recalls that his father, just before dying, turned off his memory switch to save him the pain of heartbreak. Zane sheds a tear for his father before rushing out to help his friends.

The ninja defeat the Treehorns, but things take a turn for the worse when their Queen arrives. Realizing who he is, Zane overcomes the obstacles of his heart and unlocks his True Potential. With his newfound powers, Zane freezes the Queen and the other Treehorns retreat. The other ninja commend Zane for unlocking his True Potential and Zane proclaims that they are going to find Pythor.

MoS7Map

The Map of Fangs

Meanwhile, Pythor is still desperately trying to unite the snake tribes by solving a riddle: "When the five fangs unite as one, the path toward the Devourer has begun." The other leaders begin to doubt Pythor, saying that snakes will begin to ask questions. Just then, Acidicus and Skalidor get into a tussle with one another, and their staffs are tossed aside. The venom from their staffs drips onto the floor, then Pythor realizes something. He gathers all five staffs and puts them in a leaning formation over the table, Pythor realizes it's been right in front of them the whole time. "When the five fangs unite as one, the path toward the Devourer has begun." The riddle wasn't talking about of the five tribes, it was the venom in the five Staffs. As Pythor slides a scrap of paper underneath. The venom drips onto the paper, revealing a map that shows the locations of the four Fangblades. Having solved the riddle, Pythor and the others rejoice.

On a tall mountain, Sensei Wu is shown to be meditating before pouring the Traveler's Tea in a circle around his campfire. A vortex then erupts, and he steps into it. He reappears in another dimension, where he is greeted by his brother, Lord Garmadon.

Appearances[]

Characters[]

Cast[]

Non-speaking[]

Miscellaneous[]

Mentioned[]

Creatures[]

Items[]

Locations[]

Species[]

Transcript[]

For the transcript of the episode, click here.

Trivia[]

  • The episode's title refers to Zane (and, to a lesser extent, the Falcon), who is revealed to be a mechanical being. This twist is foreshadowed by the opening scene, showing a mass of clockwork before zooming out to show a pocket watch, as well as Kai's comment about Zane being "inhuman".
    • The episode title may also refer to the Serpentine's search for the Four Silver Fangblades, which will become a race against time as the ninja try to stop them from unleashing the Great Devourer.
  • The title sequence is updated in this episode, featuring the ninja in their ZX outfits.
  • In the Japanese version of this episode, rather than Zane lasting 10 minutes in the water, he lasted 10 hours and 10 minutes.
  • When young Wu and Garmadon are fighting, Kirby Morrow's voice can be heard making some of the grunting and laughing sounds.
  • The phone number to the ninja starts with "555". These digits have commonly appeared in Hollywood movies at the start of every phone number.

Cultural references[]

  • The Juggernaut, the robot that attacks the Nnja after they arrive, resembles the Prototype suit that Tony Stark uses to break out of the terrorist organization the Ten Rings' hideout in the 2008 Marvel movie, Iron Man.
    • Curiously, some of its behaviors seem to mimic Daleks in the BBC TV series Doctor Who.
  • The song Zane sings is based on a song originally written in 1899 by Tin Pan Alley. It is also known to be featured in 1955's One Froggy Evening, sung by Michigan J. Frog.
  • The scene where Zane's memories come flooding back to him after he turns on his memory switch is similar to the scene in Disney's Tangled where Rapunzel's memories come flooding back to her right before she realizes she's the lost princess of Corona.

Continuity[]

  • This episode features the first appearance of Dr. Julien (in a flashback), Mystake, and Lord Garmadon's new, four-armed form. It also marks the only present-day or physical appearances of the Juggernaut and Treehorns in the series.
  • In this episode, Zane becomes the first ninja to unlock his True Potential.
  • This is the only episode where a ninja unlocks their True Potential not while trying to get a Fangblade.
  • This is the first episode where a character (Zane) sings.
  • This episode reveals that the ninja's phone number is 555-122091-1.
  • This is the first episode not to feature Lloyd since his introduction.
  • The episode opens with Zane meditating in the Endless Sea in a very similar manner to how he was shown meditating in a frozen pond in "The Golden Weapon," one of the pilot episodes.
  • This episode is somewhat a reverse of "Never Trust a Snake." Early in "Never Trust a Snake," there is a warm-tinted dream sequence focusing on Zane, while the rest of the episode focuses on an aspect of Lloyd's family. Early in "Tick Tock," there is a warm-tinted flashback focusing an aspect of Lloyd's family, while the rest of the episode focuses on Zane.
  • An extended version of Dr. Julien's death scene is later shown in "The Last Voyage," where it's revealed that Samukai resurrected the inventor before imprisoning him in Lighthouse Island. However, there are various differences in the portrayals of Dr. Julien's death:
    • The color filter in the original episode is yellow, while the filter in the later episode is gray.
    • The shot where Dr. Julien turns off Zane's memory switch is slightly different.
    • In the original episode, Zane is smiling and then has a blank expression when his memory switch is turned off, while in the later episode, he is sad and then has a more serious expression.
      • However, the shot composition and Zane's head movement remain the same, and this is the only shot to be present in both versions of the scene.
    • In the original episode, Dr. Julien's glasses fall to the floor after he dies, but in the later episode, his glasses remain on his face.
    • In the original episode, Zane turns around after his memory switch is turned off, but in the later episode, he remains facing forward without moving.
  • Wu's story from this episode shares similarities with Garmadon's story from "Spellbound" about signing Wu's letter. See Sons of the First Spinjitzu Master § Trivia for more information.
  • This is the first episode in which Jay interrupts one of Wu's stories as a comic relief moment, the second being "Ghost Story."
  • This is the first appearance of a full-blooded Oni, specifically Mystake. However, the concept of the Oni was not created at the time this episode was written.

Garmadon's laugh in "Rise of the Snakes" and this episode

Errors[]

  • When the ninja visit Jamanakai Village and Cole asked Kai if everything's all right, he speaks with Jay's voice.
  • When Pythor collects the five staffs, Fangtom is holding the Anacondrai's staff, not the Fangpyre's.
  • When Master Wu tells his story to the ninja, behind him is seen the Sacred Flute in the cabinet, even though it was stolen by Pythor two episodes prior.
  • In Wu's flashback, the sound of children playing starts before Garmadon start sparring.
  • When Wu says Garmadon told him never to put off what could be done today, Garmadon's mouth isn't moving long enough for this to be what he said.
  • When Zane shows the ninja that he's a robot, his memory switch is on, but when he discovers the switch, it's off.
  • When Zane puts his mask back on toward the end of the episode, his hair is missing for a frame.[2]
  • When Cole lifts the weights, Nya's left eye blinks, but strangely not her right.

Videos[]

Soundtracks[]

Gallery[]

For the gallery of the episode, click here.

Translations[]

Language Name
Chinese (Traditional) 心的枷鎖
Czech Tik Tak
Dutch Tik Tak
Finnish Tik-tak
German Der Nindroid
Italian Tik Tak
Portuguese Tique Taque
Polish Czas ucieka
Russian Тик-так
Spanish Tick Tock
Ukrainian Тик-так

References[]

Ninjago episodes
Pilot episodes 1. Way of the Ninja · 2. The Golden Weapon · 3. King of Shadows · 4. Weapons of Destiny
Mini-movies 1. Secrets of the Blacksmith · 2. Flight of the Dragon Ninja · 3. The New Masters of Spinjitzu · 4. An Underworldly Takeover · 5. Return to the Fire Temple · 6. Battle Between Brothers
Season 1: Rise of the Snakes 1. Rise of the Snakes · 2. Home · 3. Snakebit · 4. Never Trust a Snake · 5. Can of Worms · 6. The Snake King · 7. Tick Tock · 8. Once Bitten, Twice Shy · 9. The Royal Blacksmiths · 10. The Green Ninja · 11. All of Nothing · 12. The Rise of the Great Devourer · 13. Day of the Great Devourer
Season 2: Legacy of the Green Ninja 14. Darkness Shall Rise · 15. Pirates vs. Ninja · 16. Double Trouble · 17. Ninjaball Run · 18. Child's Play · 19. Wrong Place, Wrong Time · 20. The Stone Army · 21. The Day Ninjago Stood Still · 22. The Last Voyage · 23. Island of Darkness · 24. The Last Hope · 25. Return of the Overlord · 26. Rise of the Spinjitzu Master
Season 3: Rebooted 27. The Surge · 28. The Art of the Silent Fist · 29. Blackout · 30. The Curse of the Golden Master · 31. Enter the Digiverse · 32. Codename: Arcturus · 33. The Void · 34. The Titanium Ninja
Season 4: Tournament of Elements 35. The Invitation · 36. Only One Can Remain · 37. Versus · 38. Ninja Roll · 39. Spy for a Spy · 40. Spellbound · 41. The Forgotten Element · 42. The Day of the Dragon · 43. The Greatest Fear of All · 44. The Corridor of Elders
Season 5: Possession 45. Winds of Change · 46. Ghost Story · 47. Stiix and Stones· 48. The Temple on Haunted Hill · 49. Peak-a-Boo · 50. Kingdom Come · 51. The Crooked Path · 52. Grave Danger · 53. Curseworld, Part I · 54. Curseworld, Part II
Chen mini-movies (non-canon) 1. Chen's New Chair · 2. Chair Play Chen · 3. Chair Up Chen · 4. Chairful What You Wish For · 5. Bad Chair Day
Season 6: Skybound 55. Infamous · 56. Public Enemy Number One · 57. Enkrypted · 58. Misfortune Rising · 59. On a Wish and a Prayer · 60. My Dinner With Nadakhan · 61. Wishmasters · 62. The Last Resort · 63. Operation Land Ho! · 64. The Way Back
Tall Tales (non-canon) 1. The Tall Tale of Flintlocke · 2. The Tall Tale of Clancee · 3. The Tall Tale of Doubloon · 4. The Tall Tale of Dogshank · 5. The Tall Tale of Monkey Wretch · 6. The Tall Tale of Sqiffy and Bucko
Special Day of the Departed
Operation Heavy Metal 1. Operation Heavy Metal: Machia · 2. Operation Heavy Metal: Buffmillion · 3. Operation Heavy Metal: Blunck · 4. Operation Heavy Metal: Raggmunk
Season 7: The Hands of Time 65. The Hands of Time · 66. The Hatching · 67. A Time of Traitors · 68. Scavengers · 69. A Line in the Sand · 70. The Attack · 71. Secrets Discovered · 72. Pause and Effect · 73. Out of the Fire and Into the Boiling Sea · 74. Lost in Time
Wu's Teas mini-movies (non-canon) Wu's Teas
Ninjago: Decoded 1. Legacy · 2. Vehicles and Mechs · 3. Legendary Places · 4. Ninjago's Most Wanted · 5. The Digiverse and Beyond · 6. The Elemental Masters · 7. Beasts and Dragons · 8. Rise of Garmadon · 9. Prophecy of the Green Ninja · 10. Greatest Battles
Season 8: Sons of Garmadon 75. The Mask of Deception · 76. The Jade Princess · 77. The Oni and the Dragon · 78. Snake Jaguar · 79. Dead Man's Squall · 80. The Quiet One · 81. Game of Masks · 82. Dread on Arrival · 83. True Potential · 84. Big Trouble, Little Ninjago
Season 9: Hunted 85. Firstbourne · 86. Iron & Stone · 87. Radio Free Ninjago · 88. How to Build a Dragon · 89. The Gilded Path · 90. Two Lies, One Truth · 91. The Weakest Link · 92. Saving Faith · 93. Lessons for a Master · 94. Green Destiny
Tales from the Monastery of Spinjitzu 1. Master Class · 2. Green and Gold · 3. The Weekend Drill · 4. Elemental Rider · 5. Blue Lightning · 6. Samurai X-Treme
Season 10: March of the Oni 95. The Darkness Comes · 96. Into the Breach · 97. The Fall · 98. Endings
Season 11: Secrets of the Forbidden Spinjitzu 99. Wasted True Potential · 100. Questing for Quests · 101. A Rocky Start · 102. The Belly of the Beast · 103. Boobytraps and How to Survive Them · 104. The News Never Sleeps! · 105. Ninja vs Lava · 106. Snaketastrophy · 107. Powerless · 108. Ancient History · 109. Never Trust a Human · 110. Under Siege · 111. The Explorers Club · 112. Vengeance is Mine! · 113. A Cold Goodbye · 114. The Never-Realm · 115. Fire Maker · 116. An Unlikely Ally · 117. The Absolute Worst · 118. The Message · 119. The Traveler's Tree · 120. Krag's Lament · 121. Secret of the Wolf · 122. The Last of the Formlings · 123. My Enemy, My Friend · 124. The Kaiju Protocol · 125. Corruption · 126. A Fragile Hope · 127. Once and for All · 128. Awakenings
Prime Empire Original Shorts 1. Let's Dance · 2. Upgrade · 3. The Meaning of Victory · 4. The Stowaway · 5. Manhunt · 6. Gayle Gossip: A Closer Look
Season 12: Prime Empire 129. Would You Like to Enter Prime Empire? · 130. Dyer Island · 131. Level Thirteen · 132. Superstar Rockin' Jay · 133. I am Okino · 134. The Glitch · 135. The Cliffs of Hysteria · 136. The Maze of the Red Dragon · 137. One Step Forward, Two Steps Back · 138. Racer Seven · 139. The Speedway Five-Billion · 140. Stop, Drop and Side Scroll · 141. Ninjago Confidential · 142. The Prodigal Father · 143. The Temple of Madness · 144. Game Over
Season 13: Master of the Mountain 145. Shintaro · 146. Into the Dark · 147. The Worst Rescue Ever · 148. The Two Blades · 149. Queen of the Munce · 150. Trial By Mino · 151. The Skull Sorcerer · 152. The Real Fall · 153. Dungeon Party! · 154. Dungeon Crawl! · 155. Grief-Bringer · 156. Masters Never Quit · 157. The Darkest Hour · 158. The Ascent · 159. The Upply Strike Back! · 160. The Son of Lilly
The Island 161. Uncharted · 162. The Keepers of the Amulet · 163. The Gift of Jay · 164. The Tooth of Wojira
Season 14: Seabound 165. A Big Splash · 166. The Call of the Deep · 167. Unsinkable · 168. Five Thousand Fathoms Down · 169. The Wrath of Kalmaar · 170. Long Live the King · 171. Escape from Merlopia · 172. The Tale of Benthomaar · 173. The Storm Amulet · 174. Riddle of the Sphinx · 175. Papergirl · 176. Master of the Sea · 177. The Calm Before the Storm · 178. Assault on Ninjago City · 179. Nyad · 180. The Turn of the Tide
Ninjago: Reimagined 1. Golden Legend · 2. Gold Rush · 3. A Day in the Life of a Golden Ninja · 4. Sweatin' to the Goldies · 5. Golden Hour
The Virtues of Spinjitzu 1. Curiosity · 2. Balance · 3. Wisdom · 4. Honesty · 5. Generosity · 6. Courage
Season 15: Crystalized 181. Farewell the Sea · 182. The Call of Home · 183. The Shape of Nya · 184. A Mayor Problem · 185. Public Enemies 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5! · 186. A Painful Promise · 187. Ninjago City vs. Ninja · 188. Kryptarium Prison Blues · 189. Hounddog McBrag · 190. The Benefit of Grief · 191. The Fifth Villain · 192. The Council of the Crystal King · 193. A Sinister Shadow · 194. The Spider's Design · 195. The Fall of the Monastery · 196. Darkness Within · 197. The Coming of the King · 198. Return to Primeval's Eye · 199. Crystastrophe · 200. Christofern · 201. A Lesson in Anger · 202. Brave But Foolish · 203. Quittin' Time! · 204. Return of the Ice Emperor · 205. Safe Haven · 206. Compatible · 207. Distress Calls · 208. An Issue of Trust · 209. Dragon Form · 210. Roots
Ninjago NXT 1. Noodles · 2. Oldies · 3. Shadows · 4. Volcano · 5. The Party
Will you enter the Dream World? 1. I Just Had the Weirdest Dream · 2. I Just Had the Most Wonderful Dream · 3. I Just Had the Most Peculiar Dream · 4. I Just Had the Most Outrageous Dream
Ninjago - Dream Team (non-canon) Ninjago - Dream Team
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