DuplexBeGreat

They almost achieved that effect. Archers on the walls in front of them, melee attackers coming up from behind. And then it all just fell apart.

Personally, I really liked the fight scene against Slicer. The battle with the Warriors was much sillier. They just stood there and got shoved aside by the Toa without doing anything.

If the final episode is being released tomorrow, it's possible they'll do an official reveal of the 2016 sets, or at least a teaser. Either way, I'm very much looking forward to finally seeing the much-hyped Brutaka moment in the animations.

Is it just me, or did the Imgur album with the HD images also get taken down? I can't find anywhere else that has them, and they're kinda important to this discussion.

Okay, well, that's not what I'm seeing. I'm seeing "I don't like Melum because he's a Terak clone." And... um, Terak is a Melum clone. Neither one is the "original" is my point. Not that they necessarily make sense, or have a good design, or anything. You're entitled to dislike them, I just don't understand the hate towards Melum without actually providing any design-based reasons for it. You're the first person I've seen give a reason.

I don't quite get why everyone seems to think that Melum being a Terak clone automatically makes Melum worse. Sure, Terak has two more claws on each paw, but aside from that, isn't the definition of clones that they're the same? Yet everyone's acting like Terak "came first" or something, and Melum must therefore be the "inferior" one.

I loved this episode. I think they finally got Ekimu's voice right--- it was terrible in Episode 15, and got a bit better in Episode 16. I'm disappointed that Basher was defeated so easily, but aside from that, the fight scene was actually very good in terms of atmosphere and execution.

Just pointing out that if you look at the top right of the image, there is a beartrap.

I think the silver parts on the masks are just intended to show how they connect with the Creatures.

Alright, massive opinion dump time, since everyone seems to be doing it. Creatures: Terak: Can't express how much I love this guy. The gold and trans-purple work fantastically together, and his appearance is simple, yet not boring. I actually really like the generic Creature face, too. Ikir and Uxar look pretty good. The wings are actually done well, instead of just being slapped on there. Akida and Ketar seem the most lacking to me. It could be that I'm biased against the unorthodox body design, but I think it's more the color schemes. The way that orange is used on Akida clashes too heavily, and Ketar is just a mess. The "bear traps", as everyone seems to be calling them, are cute. I like them more than the Skull Spiders for sure. Toa/Uniters: Onua looks pretty cool. While I don't like how his hammer/drill is suddenly two-handed, I really do like that color scheme, and I think he pulls it off better than his '15 incarnation. And wow that mask resembles movie Ruru. Tahu is... eh. My complaints seem to be the same as others': His mask is weird, there's too much gold, the blue printing on his chest plate seems out of place. Another one I have to add to the list is his weapons. The function looks cool, but having massive chunks of technic sticking out in the middle like that just doesn't appeal to me. Gali has a nice build, but I feel like her color scheme has dipped from last year, and that orange asymmetrical shoulder armor isn't helping anything. I'll reserve judgment on her weapon until we get clearer pictures. Lewa I definitely like, all around, but I'm disappointed at the loss of Keetorange. Still, the color scheme isn't too bad, and the armor design and weapons look awesome. Pohatu is... ugh. I really don't know why they're mixing so many colors into our Stone characters. It just doesn't work well in my opinion. The ball on a chain is nice, but it's definitely going to be awkward for posing. And yep, he has a two-handed weapon now. Sigh. Large: Kopaka is... interesting. His overall appearance is definitely cool (GET IT?!!!!?!?!?!?), but the technic shoulders, as others have mentioned, may have mixed results. I like his weapons, and I think the gold is done better than it was last year, but dear Mata Nui that technic. Melum I don't really have much to say about. Until we get clearer pictures, he/she/it really does look like a recolored Terak. That's not necessarily a bad thing--- I like Terak--- but it's an odd choice. I think his combination with Kopaka improves the design overall, though I really hope we get some valid story reason for why the heck the Creatures are being worn as pelts. Umarak. Ah, Umarak. This guy is... complicated. I'm of the opinion that his misshapen feet and strange color scheme actually add to his charm as a villain. He looks evil, far more than the spoopy skeletons, and I like nearly every aspect of his appearance. The horns are very creative, and the mask is beautiful. The spikes and chains all over his body add to the aesthetic wonderfully, and the strange leg design really just enhances things overall. The bow is great too. I'm just not sure it'll be worth getting him if we have an "updated" version coming out in the following wave. I'd like to point out that I disagree with the idea that this Mask of Control is somehow a "mutation" or unfaithful to the "original". I'm convinced that this was intended to be the original design of the mask, and that we're simply biased against it because we're used to seeing it in a cartoon, 2-d format which we already know is not an accurate representation of the sets.

I really hope that Umarak is still alive at the end of the 2016 story. Skull Grinder was a massive flop in terms of creating an original, interesting villain. He had as much dialogue as the rest of the Skull Army (ie: none), almost no originality in his build, a proper name that was never mentioned in any of the online animations or the book, and to top it all off, his entire character was basically deleted with the revelation that "lol it was Makuta the whole time because evil = evil". Umarak seems to be a step in the direction of fixing several of the problems that Kulta had, and the fact that he's getting two sets this year only makes me more hopeful. Umarak has the potential to be an interesting, original character for G2, separate from Makuta and possibly even with his own motives (such as the idea being tossed around that he's a mercenary hired by Makuta, which leaves open the possibility of him trying to betray Makuta and take the power for himself). The only way that I can see this going wrong is if they have the Toa kill him off at the end of his debut story arc--- which, sadly, is a very real possibility. If he does survive, however, that gives us loads of story potential for the following years.

Well, maybe we would have seen that if Slicer/Scorpio/Basher were successful at stealing the Toa's own masks. But the MoCr is a special case--- it must be destroyed, lest Ekimu regain its power.

His uncle works for Lego, duh.

It's not impossible. I mean, we never saw it coming with G1, even with Metru Nui's sunholes being a massive hint. So we wouldn't necessarily see it coming with G2 either. I don't think it's likely, though, because even if they were planning some sort of large reveal late in the story, they wouldn't do the same thing twice. Firstly, it wouldn't be received as well, and secondly, it would make it hard to slip in little hints like they did with the Sunholes, because G1 fans would spot them instantly and the big reveal would be spoiled.

I actually agree with what you're saying. My point was that unlike most people, I don't dislike Episode 13.

This episode really didn't impress me at all. I think it's my least favorite so far, and that's even counting the clip show Episode 13.

I really like all of that, except for Umarak "mixing the elements". I still believe that the Beasts' names are just stylized words meant to represent Fire, Ice, and Earth.

*raises hand* I joined in 2006. Though I don't entirely see your point.

Something I find interesting is that Skull Scorpio's character video contains versions of the scenes where Gali and Onua attack the Scorpios in Episode 14, yet they are edited so that Pohatu's mask isn't shown in the other Scorpio's tail. I can't understand why. The first thing that comes to mind is "to avoid spoilers", but Lego was perfectly happy to show us exactly how Lewa and Onua got their masks stolen in the character bios for Slicer and Basher.

I really hope they don't make launchers as much of a thing as they were in G1. The weapons always felt tacked on to the characters instead of an actual part of the set.

Another trend: Gali's inability to be useful. She's the only Toa who didn't really contribute to the fight against Slicer, and now she's being used as set-up for a Captain Obvious joke. The writers aren't treating her very well. Otherwise, awesome episode. I'm glad they didn't have the Scorpio actually put Pohatu's mask on; that would've been ridiculous.

While I really like the idea that our unnamed set is a Swamp Beast, and that all three Beasts are "fusions" of the Creatures, I do want to point something else out. While Lava and Storm both make sense as "fusion" elements, if you were asked to name just one of the primary elements to associate with Lava and Storm, what would you pick? You would pick Fire and Water. The two elements that did not receive corrupted masks in Summer 2015. Coincidence? Probably.

Yes, but CabooseBM was talking about Pewku, I think.

Gotta love those subtitles.