Something must have happened in the (approximately) three months between the release of the first 10 episodes of ‘LEGO DREAMZzz: Trials of the Dream Chasers’ and the last 10 episodes of the series because it became a pile of detritus held together by contrivances.

Initially, the show was not perfect, but it had potential. I gave it the benefit of the doubt. But all the good faith faded away with the second half of this season.

How did it get this bad? Pure Imagination Studios (the studio behind the animated series) not only dropped the ball, it punctured the ball, set the ball on fire, and relieved itself on the ashes of the ball.

Let’s begin with the animation. Seeing minifigs in a “non-LEGO brick” world was already jarring, but it got worse. No amount of textures could hide how some minifigs (characters) in the show looked like they came from 1997’s ‘LEGO Island’, but worse with heads warping out of proportions to be more “animated”.

When I thought it could not get any poorer, the ‘Manticore’ appeared. It looked downright pedestrian and was animated to match. I bet there will be a LEGO DREAMZzz playset of him, and I’d wager he’ll look better in plastic. In the show, however, he seems like he came from a low-budget show from decades ago.

Still, the biggest atrocity that ‘LEGO DREAMZzz: Trials of the Dream Chasers’ committed in these last 10 episodes (of the season) is its storytelling. I understand that it is a show for children, and so is LEGO City Adventures, and yet LEGO City Adventures is far more entertaining, coherent, and creative.

It’s painfully apparent how everything is contrived. A threat is a threat until it’s not, a team player is a team player until they’re not, a danger is a danger until it’s not, a plan is a plan until it’s not, and something important is important until it’s not, and so on. Nothing matters when everything is too plastic, malleable, and can change at a moment’s notice without reason.

On top of that, the there are filler montages that ran for way too long in certain episodes which reads as a lack of idea for content.

To me, the only thing redeeming about the second half of the season is a glimpse of possible future sets. I’m looking forward to those. Sure there are inspired ideas sprinkled here and there. They gave me hope that the story would turn around. But these were too few, too far between, and under developed.

If you have to watch ‘LEGO DREAMZzz: Trials of the Dream Chasers’, stop at episode 10 and let it rest in pieces there. Otherwise, watch any other LEGO animated series, special, feature film, or anything else.