Curate, connect, and discover
One of my favorite things about the difference in the Lloyd and Garmadon fights in SoG and Hunted, is the music. Yes, they have a marked difference in tone just listening to them, but if you pay attention to the leitmotifs used, they also add to the story. (Leitmotif = a recurring musical phrase that represents a character or idea.)
“Garmadon’s True Potential” (which plays during the fight in True Potential) is primarily focused on Garmadon’s theme (the Sons of Garmadon theme is incorporated into Garmadon’s theme, showing their role in his revival) and the Garmadon family theme, with absolutely no usage of the Green Ninja theme. The one time the Ninjago theme is used is when it cuts to the other Ninja, it’s never used to symbolize a heroic moment by Lloyd. When Lloyd starts fighting in earnest, at the end, there’s no desperate-but-heroic rendition of the Green Ninja theme - it’s the SoG theme followed by the Garmadon family theme.
Being scored like this makes the fight basically entirely about Garmadon; Lloyd doesn’t get any victories, in the animation or musically. Lloyd goes into this fight with the intent to save his father, not fight him, so the music reflects that by emphasizing the Garmadon family theme. Garmadon’s theme is dissonant and evil sounding, while the Garmadon family theme is sad, bringing down the whole mood of the fight. Because there’s only one cutaway to the other Ninja, there’s also no reprieve; while the music does get quieter/less noisy in some moments, it’s six straight minutes of unsettling dissonance and tragic violins/vocals.
To contrast, “I Can Resist You” (which plays during the fight in Green Destiny) has all three themes, and more (for example, some interjections by the Resistance theme when it cuts to the other Ninja). It actually focuses less on Garmadon’s theme. This time, when Lloyd argues with his father, the Ninjago theme is played. When Lloyd grabs the Dragonbone Blade, we hear a modified Green Ninja theme. When he deflects a bolt of Destruction, Green Ninja theme.
Like the fight itself, this time the music feels like an actual fight instead of a one-sided beatdown, because Lloyd is musically represented by the Ninjago theme and Green Ninja theme. Garmadon’s theme and the family theme are still there, but the different instrumentation and harmonization lessen the impact on the mood. (Garmadon’s theme especially is played less and harmonized differently to make the overall music more melodic and thus feel less creepy.) Also, the music has “lighter” instruments like a flute, which the composers tend to associate with the heroes.
The unreleased portion of the soundtrack which plays after this track (starting when Lloyd gets the idea to use the Art of the Silent Fist) follows in a similar vein. During the parts where Lloyd is fighting Garmadon, the Resistance theme plays instead of Garmadon’s theme. When Lloyd gets his power back, the Green Ninja theme plays.
Musically, this shows the tide shifting as Lloyd starts winning. The Resistance theme is hopeful, really bringing up the mood. Garmadon’s theme only plays once more, at the very end when he’s lost his powers completely, and even then instead of being elaborated on in the usual continuation, a less dissonant variation is played which leads directly into the Green Ninja theme. It’s unified - there’s no interjection from Garmadon’s theme except at the end, signifying that the real fight is over.
tl;dr: In True Potential, the leitmotifs used are almost only Garmadon’s theme and the Garmadon family theme, which centers the scene on him and makes the fight one-sided musically. In Green Destiny, the Green Ninja, Ninjago, and Resistance themes give the fight more balance and focus on Lloyd’s victory. Also you should listen to the soundtrack because it’s good.
(Side note: Some people say that what I call the Garmadon family theme is simply Emperor Garmadon’s theme (and that he has two themes, I guess), but the Garmadon family theme only gets played in relation to, well, the Garmadon family. It’s just that a lot of the time, Lloyd ends up nearby when Emperor Garmadon gets screentime. Just listen to the musical cues for when he isn’t, though, and the 3-note theme gets played, not the family theme. [Unless he’s talking about Lloyd, which he does a lot.])