The Underutilization of Kai and Nya

[@shortstackofpancakes13]

I totally agree! I’ve always wanted to see more Kai and Nya interactions, but it felt like we were getting less over time. They didn’t even feel like siblings in the 11 minute era, which is why I absolutely love their dynamic in Dragons Rising! I think the 22 minute format just works better for having more character interactions between everyone. The team has never felt more connected and like a family, which is highlighted the most with Kai and Nya!

[@miakwat]

Oh I absolutely agree about the 22 minute eps working in their favour!! They went with the shorter runtimes to get rid of 'unnecessary fluff', but because of that I think they lost a bit of what gave the show life (AKA character interactions)

[@mizzuzu]

Another reason why DR is amazing! Not only did it improve the siblings relationships, but also improved kai as a character! Wish they did explore their relationship more in the earlier seasons but with what we got so far I’ll take it. Amazing video by the way and I agree with every point made here

[@miakwat]

AAA tysm!!! Definitely agree on wishing they explored their dynamic a little earlier but like you said, I'm just glad DR is finally exploring it a bit more

[@mizzuzu]

@@miakwatnp!!! :D hopefully when they ever decide to bring jay back into the ninja mix they don’t ruin their relationship aging like with how the 11-minute era did 😭

[@Crusty783]

"Ponytail squad" has me dying lol this is a great video

[@miakwat]

TYSM!!

[@nelsonboubou7006]

Glad that I wasn’t the only one feeling it. I kinda feel like Jay being there always unintentionally robbed them of some cool moments that they could have, and the worst thing is that Jaya was actually fine until it became absolutely dreadful from s3 to 6 because of that stupid ai that Nya decided to trust. That drama plot line literally benefited to no one and was just actively harming Cole, Jay and the rest of the cast at worst and straight up assassinating her character at best. I really love that they moved on from it and that Dragon Rising finally have Kai not getting sidelined for one time

[@miakwat]

No literally!! The early Jaya scenes are so cute and it’s stupid that the writers decided to chuck that out the window so they could have four seasons worth of couple drama 😭 But yeah!! I really hope DR improves on Jay’s interactions with the others just like they were able to improve on Kai’s character as a whole

[@AndrewZhao-c1r]

12:35 I think that the writers avoided this because nya had barely any memories of her parents since they left when she was 3, so it wouldn’t make sense for her to make like a massive reaction to her parents being possibly alive, but maybe only a slightly bigger one

[@miakwat]

True! She also doesn’t seem to care as much about connecting with their parents in Seabound so it backs up her reaction in S7, but ig a little part of me wished they had at least expanded a bit more on her feelings about the situation (especially since the show makes it clear that - even if she doesn’t remember them - she still looks up to both them and their legacy)

[@woofwoof4276]

As someone who has a older brother and is a younger sister. I hold Kai and Nya close to my heart because my brother is very good to me. And it shows me how older siblings should towards their younger siblings.

[@miakwat]

No fr!!

[@zanewithdasideye]

"Alive but gay" HELP-

[@salomelisha]

i think its a reference to that one video where the commentator describes cole as alive but gay 😭😭

[@Yewzii.]

I keep seeing u everywhere😭

[@zanewithdasideye]

@@Yewzii. yea.

[@zwart.]

​@salomelisha he's not even gay tho 😭😭?

[@miadoesmanythings]

@@zwart.yeah, he’s implied, but the writers said the ninja’s sexualities are left to interpretation like their ages lol

[@Fictionist10101]

I hate how they portrayed jay as more worried about nya more than kai, when nya was turned evil in season 2 & when she merged with the sea in season 14. Their sibling dynamic was essentially what drived kai to become a ninja even in season 2 they made it clear in the time travel episode that if it wasn't for nya being in danger kai wouldn't have the drive or determination to become a ninja. This shows you how deeply they care for each other yet they focus on jay more at the expense of nya's other significant relationships & bonds which is irritating to say the least.

[@miakwat]

No fr!! While I miss him, I’m glad they’re sidelining Jay a bit so Nya can develop her dynamics with both the original members of the team and the new ones 😭

[@ZeroJump]

Important zo memtion that Wu had more Important lines than Kai in Seabounds ending

[@miakwat]

NO LITERALLY, THATS SO FRUSTRATING

[@personontheinternet-dz5oi]

Honestly I kinda feel like the Cole and jay thing was for the parents because my mom actually got a little invested She once caught me rewatching the ninjago triangle while eating cereal and my mom walked up behind me and said”so she ends up with jay!” I literally chocked on my cereal like a cartoon character 😂

[@miakwat]

@@personontheinternet-dz5oi CHGJG Them adding it for the parents watching actually makes a lot of sense 😭

[@torialpin4651]

Love the video!! Also if i'm being honest rn, i forgot they were even related in some of the seasons where they didnt really lean into their dynamic, but watching dragons rising rn made me love them even more! They are just the best and i love them very much. I agree with what you said in the video, they felt so disconnected in the wildbrain seasons, (and that part in skybound and seabound COUGH COUGH) God im glad you made this video i love kai and nyas bond and bickering as siblings and all that stuff, kinda glad jay is outta the picture now in dr, just a little bit tho, i kinda miss the dude. Great now im ranting. Love their dynamic and love the video! :)

[@miakwat]

AAAA I’m glad you enjoyed it!! I also always forget they’re related whenever I watch certain seasons, so I’m really glad DR brought back and lowkey improved on their dynamic (even if it came at the cost of sidelining Jay 😔)

[@snakemaster254]

I think when/if Jay comes back they’ll find a way to balance him hopefully, they’ve already shown they have a better grasp of most of the ninja than the directors of s11-16. Though Zane is still slightly off in my opinion, he’s a bit too much robot and less thinking and feeling than they make clear point about in season 1 and 2.

[@jasonadekoya932]

Wasn’t there an episode before the first episode when wu brought the to the (correct me if I’m wrong ) monastery right?

[@jasonadekoya932]

Yeah after we found out Zane was a robot the leaned into it way to much

[@miakwat]

⁠​⁠@@snakemaster254Doc Wyatt’s actually tweeted about putting more focus on Zane, so I’m hoping it’s just apart of his arc for this batch of seasons!! (Him being more robotic definitely bothered me before I learned this, though😭)

[@franyya1048]

2 things Something I noticed if I’m not wrong that in dragon rising I kind that see that a trio like brothers and sister with nya and Kai and Lloyd in some parts Also kinda wild brain have it hard due to only have 11 minutes to develop a story of like 10 to 15 episodes because if they gave them more time I think they actually could make more memorable moments

[@miakwat]

@@franyya1048 I also really like seeing Lloyd, Nya, and Kai as siblings!! Kai and Nya specifically have always seemed to be paired with Lloyd the most so I’m glad they’re REALLY leaning into that dynamic with DR Also I agree, the shorter episode runtime definitely hurt character interactions during S11-16 😭

[@Smelf_the_great]

How does this not have more views? The video was great.

[@miakwat]

@@Smelf_the_great AAA tysm!!

[@lillian7935]

In the main series Nya was definitely more utilised as a stepping stool for kai's character. She gets a few good moments, especially in seabound, but she herself in demoted to a kai supporter. Dragons rising definitely does better with making them more equal while also giving them there own developments

[@miakwat]

Oh definitely! I'm so glad they actually started to develop her as a character as the seasons went on because *man* the early seasons were rough for her when it came to both her character and general role on the team

[@snakemaster254]

I too am glad Dragons Rising has promoted Kai back up from the rank of comedic side character to actually competent character who is a brother. Seriously though the main character trait of Kai established in the first few seasons is that he is an older brother, he’s fiercely protective of his sister, views the team as his family, and viewed Lloyd as a younger brother leading to his internal conflict in possession. Kai’s entire character revolved around family, and then his focus season during the Wildbrain/tommy era focused on his fear of losing his powers, which was never a relevant plot point before as he lost them and got over it s5, and he also didn’t originally have powers when the show started so he really shouldn’t be that horribly attached to them he becomes depressed. Why family wasn’t the core trait of Kai they focused on confuses me

[@miakwat]

No fr, him being more upset about his powers being gone rather than the fact that *Zane is missing* back in SotFS was so off. Like last time Zane potentially permanently disappeared he joined a fight club, are you telling me there’s almost no indication that he’s worried for him?? He also just kept losing his powers throughout S11-S16 and it lowkey felt super repetitive and annoying (or at least in my opinion)

[@snakemaster254]

@@miakwat also yeah that point about Zane is good, why was that his character struggle rather than Zane being missing, honestly if they wanted to do the power struggle thing, it should have been about him feeling helpless to protect his family, then it would have worked, having his power loss issues be about his ego was the worst move possible especially since Kai’s ego was his entire character arc in season 1 and had been mostly resolved, sure he was still a bit hot headed but no longer conceited like his struggle in s11 would suggest, having the struggle instead focus on his feeling incapable of protecting his friends and family could have built so much on his character

[@miakwat]

@@snakemaster254Exactly!! I keep thinking about the beginning of S4 and how this is basically the *opposite* of how Kai felt. Like they could have expanded on his feelings where he felt *powerless and guilty* when it came to his inability to stop Zane’s sacrifice. Instead they seemed to take Lloyd’s accusation of Kai being selfish to heart and ran with it 😭

[@The-Real-Lloyd-Garmadon-]

Thank you so much for not having spoilers for season 2 part 2❤ i have been needed to unsubscribe from one of my favorite youtubers of all time for that reason.

[@miakwat]

Ofc!! I know how frustrating it is to get spoiled for a show that isn’t even officially out yet, so I wanted to avoid being the reason somebody gets spoiled as best as I could

[@MonkeComix2]

Aren’t the episodes uploaded on KZbin

[@miakwat]

@@MonkeComix2 they are, but a good chunk of the fandom prefers to wait until the official release as the eps on KZbin were posted by an outside party!

[@MonkeComix2]

@@miakwat dang, they’re better than me. I would’ve watched it the first chance I got

[@TillmanStudios]

I really feel like Tommy Andreason had no idea what went on in the previous seasons. At least the Hageman brothers and.... The guy who was hired to rush Day of the Departed and Hands of Time out and barely knew anything about Ninjago till hired, were somewhat consistent. Their dynamic is thrown completely out the window once Tommy was put in creative in charge, something you cannot convince me he was doing before that since we have Kai, Zane, Lloyd, and Jay all being butchered from season 11 to 16.

[@snakemaster254]

Yeah, I feel like the wildbrain seasons put spectacle before character half the time, especially in Kai’s case they butchered him completely. Though maybe we should change the name of the era as Wildbrain just did animation and that was the most consistent part of the show throughout. It might not be fair to attribute the failures of the plot to Wildbrain whether directly or not as they were just animators not the writers, at least to my knowledge.

[@TillmanStudios]

@@snakemaster254 I agree. Master of the Mountain and Seabound were really the only character driven seasons, but that was mainly just Cole and Nya. I think it got the nickname 'Wildbrian era' just because of the animation change, because other than that, you are right, they had nothing to do with the stories. It was Tommy and he had numerous different writers for, like, every season instead of just the two that we had in the Hageman brothers from the Pilot to March of the Oni.

[@miakwat]

Yeah, seeing the different characterizations for the cast definitely hurt me a little on my first watch through of that batch of seasons 😭 TBH, I didn’t mind Lloyd being taken in a bit more of a childish direction (it gave the impression that he could finally just be a kid), but *almost everyone* being dumbed down was a weird direction 😭

[@miakwat]

@@snakemaster254Oh true!! Especially since - despite the animation being different - Wildbrain is still animating for Dragons Rising so there obviously isn’t much correlation between the animation and writing (Tbh I hadn’t even meant to start referring to that batch of seasons as “Wildbrain” in the video, I just did it on instinct 😭)

[@TillmanStudios]

@@miakwat I agree with the Lloyd thing, since he is probably only in his early teen years throughout those seasons, considering he had just hit puberty right when Sons of Garmadon started. But yeah, they dumbed everyone down. And Crystallized was just a disaster of character assassinations across the board.

[@personontheinternet-dz5oi]

FINALLY A NINJAGO VIDEO WITHOUT SPOILERS THANK U I literally needed a video like this

[@miakwat]

@@personontheinternet-dz5oi FJGKG It was no problem! Spoilers are a pain and I don’t want to ruin anything for anybody when part 2 isn’t even officially out yet 😭

[@personontheinternet-dz5oi]

@@miakwat i made it my mission to watch the new ninjago episodes without knowing anything and it’s literally driving me insane because my GOD I wanna see what happens I only know that it comes out in October That’s it All I know is that when I finally do watch it I won’t be influenced by other peoples opinions view or ideas based on there theory’s or productions people made on the internet But instead I’ll finally be able to watch shows again like if I was a kid nobody to ruin the surprise because there’s no internet to spoil it

[@LUNARIES.]

very much enjoyed this video! your voice is so relaxing and i completely agree, especially after seabound, thank you for this!

[@miakwat]

AAAA tysm that’s so nice 😭😭💞

[@leorasellouk7342]

Didn’t get a chance to watch until now, worth the wait! I’m so glad my addition to the discussion was helpful for the video! (Also don’t worry about pronouncing my name, it’s an uncommon name I get it all the time lol). I loved all the points you made about them and honestly this made me want to go back and watch the whole series myself. I feel like there’s so many dynamics in the show that never get enough screen time, even between the other ninja. I agree Jaya definitely played a huge role in that separation, which itself feels weird because if they wanted to focus Jaya so much, why not tackle how the other ninja are reacting to it more? Like the ninja are used to them together, sure, but having a couple in a larger friend group comes with its challenges for the rest of the group and I wish they showed that struggle just a bit more. I love hearing people talk about them so much this was great:) can’t wait to hear more from you! Thank you so much for including me!

[@miakwat]

AAA it was no problem, and thank you for letting me use your point!! Also I never even thought about the internal drama surrounding a couple in the friend group. Like were the others worried about what would happen if Jay and Nya broke up? We see a bit of it through the love triangle (🙃), but it barely effects Kai, Zane, and Lloyd. I would have *loved* to see any of them give their view on whatever that was and maybe see some worries about it tearing the team apart (and their reactions when that plays into their disbandment in S4)😭

[@leorasellouk7342]

@@miakwat Exactly! Even further than just worries of breakups and such, I feel like each of the other ninja could have another take on it. Cole from the remnants of the love triangle would probably have his opinions or if Jay went to him for advice about something and Cole either being annoyed over it or awkward, maybe if Jay and Nya want to work with each other more than the others it could cause annoyances for Lloyd, Zane could either think of Pixel or so,etching like that, and so on. There’s so much material they could have gotten from the other ninja reacting to it that would make it far more interesting than just pairing them together the whole time. There are ways of having both the couple scenes and the other dynamics for the other ninja with them. It’s odd because I remember as a kid I was very invested in Jaya, but now their relationship barely feels like a relationship, it almost feels forced. It HAS to be them together and never anyone else. It’s a weird subject to think about considering how it was supposed to bring in new plots when it feels like it just took so many others away. They could have made it much more interesting than they did. But anyway, thanks again:) it’s always fun to give my takes on things like this and actually get a back and forth about it. I’ll be happy to jump into other discussions you bring up:D

[@miakwat]

@@leorasellouk7342 AAAA OMG you’re so right, seeing their views on their relationship outside of just “but what if they break up :(“ would’ve been so much fun to see play out Also -again - it was no problem!! I look forward to your future input 👁👁

[@Flowerhays]

This is a really nice video! I agree in particular with your ideas on how season 5 could have been changed to help there dynamic. And season 7 could've connected the samurai x mystery with the mystery of there parents. One thing that irked me about cystalized was Ray and mayas lack of shown reaction when nya comes back. The writing decision about Jaya being isolated from the team is something I agree with too. AND CHLOE AND MISS MARTIAN PRINT IN THAT ONE SECTION OMG YOUNG JUSTICE FAN SPOTTED!!! Anyways great video!

[@miakwat]

AAAA TYSM!! Also HAHA I HONESTLY DIDNT EXPECT ANYBODY TO TAKE NOTICE OF ANYTHING ON THE WALL 😭😭 I feel like I’m being cornered and exposed for one of my multiple obsessions (in a good way)

[@CallMeSaltyScorpion]

my glorious freckled lightning king will steal her from her brother again soon and i cant wait

[@miakwat]

FSDFjh tbh I'm also excited for their reunion Even if I ragged on the amount of screentime they get I *do* miss them being together 😭😭

[@octopuspebble]

I love there dynamic so much and as much as i love romance i get so angry writers always pritoize the romance over all other relationships like and it piss's me of

[@miakwat]

@@octopuspebble No fr, it gets so frustrating

[@MoiMe-h7o]

Amazing video

[@miakwat]

@@MoiMe-h7o Ty!!!

[@jessiemunoz1481]

I like your video they have a great sibling relationship especially in dragons rising

[@miakwat]

AAAA TYSM!!

[@TexTheGuy]

i always thought like kai should have like try to stop nya from merging with the sea but fails

[@ORB1424]

Great video, totally agree!

[@miakwat]

Ty Ty!!

[@fanisafan]

sometimes i think Lloyd and nya are more siblings than kai at times 💀

[@miakwat]

No fr!!

[@fanisafan]

@@miakwat I can't wait for Part 2!!

[@hannawhite7605]

I can say at least in season 7 and 14 Nya never really knew her parents ( and there for never connect to them) so it kinda makes sense that she wouldn't care as much as kai (and or be as affected at the thought of them being evil) You could argue why didn't she try to connect to them later and there's many reasons for these ( being to busy with ninja stuff, not knowing what to say or how to go about it etc) but I think the main reason is that nya kinda of already said back in seabound Nya and Kai grew up by themselves " and did just fine!!" That nya doesn't see the point of trying to form a relationship with them and / or is bitter about them miss her and kai whole childhood

[@miakwat]

True!! But I would’ve loved to see this explored onscreen instead of having it spoon fed to us seasons after their initial family conflict 😔 And while Nya didn’t know them personally, she still clearly looked up to them - or at least their dad - since she kept making references to how her father would do things in the first bit of the series so them being villains would directly conflict with her pre conceived notions of them I just think it would’ve been fun to explore her own feelings in the situation instead of just focus on Kai!

[@ForceTheOne]

2:07 WHY SHE GOTTA PUSH ZANE LIKE THAT.

[@miakwat]

@@ForceTheOne NO FR I HADNT NOTICED HOW ROUGHLY SHE SHOVES HIM UNTIL I WAS EDITING

[@zuzupetals3107]

I agree with this!!! So glad people are talking about this!!!

[@plutodragon4]

Jay and Kai should have actually fought in crystalized and jay should have revealed the events of skybound and how nya died in his arms. Then kai would get even more angry, and also the existence of echo being kept from zane would have made him angry. In conclusion: skybound angst and everyone should have vented their emotions

[@ApoLore]

I agree with this 100%, and Im so glad someone is finally talking sbout it 😭 Like, as much as I luv jay, he did sorta drag the duo apart, and ehile im not saying jaya is a bad thing, it was a lil bit annoying. And dragons rising is finally getting the icon siblings back together, which is amszing :> This was a really good video btw‼️‼️

[@miakwat]

@@ApoLore FR!!! I don’t hate Jaya at all, but I kept sighing whenever they chose to interact with each other (and only each other) over anybody else in the cast 😭 (Also tysm!!!)

[@angelkeister4418]

I love your background and everything on your wall. I have something like that but the posters are bigger. I wish I could get small ones like that.

[@miakwat]

AAA TYSM!! I set up that little rainbow wall back in 2021 and I just printed some screenshots from shows I liked at the time over at a Walmart!!

[@ImSamOkay]

I love you for making this video and saying thiiiis! I've been annoyed about the same thing for aaaageeeesssss

[@miakwat]

FGJGJ IKR RIGHT?? I’m so glad they’re fixing it but GOD the lack of attention to their dynamic irked me for ages 😭

[@dragoonssrbguilty4719]

I'm late to the vid but I'm 'bout to ramble because... That's life. Anyways, first of all yeah! Regardless of who took care of them in their childhood which is never explained (Hello angst fic writers) the only other consistent person they had was each other. Like literally Kai wouldn't have done shit of it wasn't for Nya being kidnapped, without the love triangle we could've had more time with the siblings. It's clear they weren't expecting to have the season so tied together and Nya was honestly being used as a side character because... Early 2010's mysogyny I guess. Like, a lot of the foreshadowing thing I'm sure was more like, ideas thrown there to make it interesting and MAYBE develop it if they were to have another season but it wasn't biggie if they didn't have another. Now, yeah, it seems like they're just... There, together, as in alone together because they don't knowledge each other. Like, they remember when is plot relevant, but since Jaya is the romantic pair and Pixal is in no way as relevant as Nya the romance was given to Jaya and we all know romantic relationships are more important than platonic or familial /s For S7 I give them a bit (a bit) of leeway because is clear it was a bit raw in story because it was being produced at the same time as the movie so they cut on time and resources a lot which definitely hindered the season. I also admit Nya just doesn't give a fuck about her parents because her parental figure was Kai and she just, was fine with it. 11min era my beloathed. For the very few scenes they have they are very sweet and I love them but is like, a window of what we could've had if.. Whatever was going on w the writers, Tommy probably has fault there too. See, Tommy has explicitly said Kai is in no way a character he likes and his character arc is pretty much done. I'm not sure how much influence he had on the writing team but it probably didn't help. Kai (alongside Zane) got probably the worst treatment out of the og 6 in terms of personality and any possible focus he could've had is gone, now if this was in a vacuum it would suck but it would be fine, the problem is that affects the whole dynamic w the rest of the group ESPECIALLY Nya (and Lloyd) The shift went from maybe Jay, Lloyd and Kai being important to Nya to mostly Jay, sometimes Lloyd and rarely Kai. So, it fucked up the relationship, bad, the most infuriating instance for me is Seabound and Crystallized, now, I could argue Crystalized as S7 was rushed because of schedule which fair but c'mon, really? The siblings barely interacted after Nya being gone for ONE WHOLE YEAR. Seabound literally separated them for no reason. And honestly the 11mins didn't help at all, is too short for the stories, there's a reason LMK usually got 40min specials to wrap things up besides the eps. At least the DR writers seem decided to give the sibs more focus as sibs and it really makes me happy, like, the scene of Kai learning the Rising Dragon technique is beautiful and I so wish we could've had more scenes in the old series like this. Like, the extra materials seem to remember more these two are siblings and honestly we could've had a Sokka and Katara type of relationship if the old writers actually gave them any true work. Lastly I think the DR has a cast problem, they've got too many stories to work with and so many characters is the reason Cole and Zane feel so disconnected, they have to give focus to the new Gen and since RGB is the group that has been here since S1 and have dynamics w the new kids then is what the writer have been going for, especially now w the whole Lloyd Master thing, like it wouldn't have mattered if Hailstorm trio wasn't brought up at all in the past season and a half because they don't do much. They have to start rotating everyone soon or we're gonna be having the same problems again.

[@jordanpdoesstuff1688]

👍 I think im going to watch ninjago now

[@averageblackguy777]

I miss Jay