REVIEW: Dino Charge 11 "Break Out"
The advent of a new Ranger is always pretty cool, and it’s generally one of the most anticipated events in a season’s run. Given that there are ten Energems total, one might put smart money on the possibility of getting a few more episodes like this, and we already know that the Aqua Ranger--at the very least--has bonded with the Energem. We’ve had some good ones and some bad ones, and usually what makes them memorable is either how they’re brought into the storyline or how they get a storyline crafted around them. I’ve never been a huge fan of these guys coming out of nowhere, so it’s helpful to give them some connection beforehand. How does “Break Out” do in this regard? Well, let’s find out.
Before I continue, I need to give props to the actor playing Prince Phillip. The actors on this show routinely turn in a wonderful performance, and of course they have a great chemistry with one another. But there is something about this guy where he completely inhabits the character and his screen presence is huge. His look is also perfect for the role; even ignoring his subjective physical attractiveness, he has a regal countenance and an imposing stare. Even later when Ivan immediately bows to him, identifying him as the current Prince of Zandar, it rings true that he would understand that so quickly. I would love to see him again, although one worry I have is that his charisma might overshadow whatever else is going on in a scene. He plays it big enough to grab the audience, but not so big that it’s over the top. It’s almost odd that this is pretty much his episode despite him not getting the Energem. But I trust the directors to be able to convey this character well.
The issues raised by “The Royal Rangers” are sort of taken care of here. During the unveiling of the Treasures of Zandar exhibit, the Prince comes and oversees the reclaiming of the items in response to the stunt pulled by the Rangers last episode. I’m glad they tied that up, because it would have been pretty ridiculous to just let that slide. Apparently Zandar is a British English-speaking country, though, which makes one wonder why Tyler was doing an odd Oberyn Martell impression during the press conference. It’s also a bit amazing that Phillip recognizes Tyler and Shelby immediately when Julian apparently couldn’t, but we can overlook that thanks to the replay of the kissing moment and Tyler’s shy response. Phillip denounces the Rangers as unworthy and leaves with his entourage. As I said before, this guy really leaves an impression, and I like that it’s not exactly a positive interaction. It makes sense that he’d be indignant over the appropriation of his identity and thus consider the museum in breach of contract, even as we feel for the Rangers as they really had no other way to lure Fury in last episode.
Speaking of Fury, his luck is starting to slide as he’s been unable to defeat the Rangers even with the new Megazord. In fairness to him, he has no real way to charge the Ptera Charger, so he’s kinda SOL. Thanks to the Zandar royalty making off with the Energem, though, he can make his move, and the villains set up an ambush. I guess I can point out the Wizard of Oz theme that the villains have, since I think this might be the first time that all 4 of them are on Earth together. If you’ve seen Kyoryuger, you already know that they’ve got Dorothy (Poisandra), Tin Man (Wrench), Cowardly Lion (Fury) and Scarecrow (Curio). But this episode was the second time I thought that maybe they’d be doing a seven-deadlies deal with them too, the first being when Riley identified the villains’ objectives in his focus. Beyond the obvious greed-lust-wrath combo of Sledge, Poisandra and Fury, there’s sloth for Curio, but it’s hard to consider Wrench envy, gluttony or pride. It’s entirely possible that I’m reading way too far into this, though if Wrench ever decides to strike out on his own because he feels underappreciated I reserve the right to say I called it.
Fury gets an awesome line about how the Secret Service-looking guys have come dressed for their own funerals. Despite the Rangers’ efforts, Fury manages to corner Phillip and gets the Energem away from him. Koda attempts to get Phillip to safety while the Rangers chase Fury to the quarry, and this is all mostly setup for what’s to come. The important beats here are that Phillip sees the Rangers morphing and fighting Fury, and Fury refuses to give up the Energem, which in hindsight seems to be to his own detriment. If I had to guess, I’d say that the resonance between the golden energy and the Energem is what finally allows Sir Ivan to break out (title drop!) of Fury’s body, having been trapped inside him for these past 800 years. While I’ve been giving (well-deserved) accolades to Phillip’s actor, Brennan should also get some, because the way he conveys Tyler’s hope, shock and disappointment without dialogue is a thing to behold. He almost has to be wondering what actually did happen to his dad if the person who emerges from Fury isn’t him.
Sir Ivan’s actor is not bad, though like I said he’s a bit overshadowed by Phillip and he seems a little less comfortable with the British accent. Still, his introduction as the Gold Ranger is rather victorious, as the Knight of Zandar utterly curb-stomps the monsters, even using electric attacks to zap the generals and take out the Spikeball monster with his Zandar Thunder attack. And since he bonded with the Energem way back when he found it in the river, it’s a simple task for him to break the spell over the Ptera Charge Megazord despite Riley’s warning. I can disregard his knowing the ins and outs of the power, for more than one reason. First, he’s clearly had some awareness of the outside world, as he’s acted to stop Fury on more than one occasion, so he’s probably seen the Rangers morph before. But also, as stated, he already bonded with the Energem. In the premiere, Tyler and Shelby also seemed to instinctively know how to use the power to a degree, but they were less in touch with their instincts.
It’s a testament to the attention to character here that the thing that enrages Sledge the most isn’t that the Rangers have a new ally, but that Poisandra was put in peril. He actually makes the Spikeball grow in order to “destroy them all”, to which I have to ask: does that include his own generals? It would seem so from all appearances. He certainly seems irate enough to have given that order. Since this is a new Ranger introduction, of course Ivan takes the giant Spikeball on alone. I joked to no one in particular while watching this fight that the Spikeball probably wishes he hadn’t come in that day, because everyone else is a grunt or a general; this means he’s the sacrificial lamb to show off the new awesome attacks of the Gold Ranger.
Ivan demorphs and rejoins the team in the quarry. There’s something really great about how he immediately recognizes his new liege lord and drops to one knee in front of Phillip when he approaches. While he was an arrogant SOB before, I can buy that he’d be humbled by what he saw. He knows these guys are the Power Rangers, and he knows that the Gold Ranger used the Stone of Zandar to morph, so he puts two and two together and allows Ivan to take the Energem. He’s so appreciative, in fact, that he releases Ivan from his service. It’s a useful sign that beneath it all, he has a good heart, calling back to the lesson Shelby learned about prejudice last episode. A more cynical person could say he just recognizes and respects their strength, but I think it’s made clear that he was also moved by Koda’s defense of him despite his dismissiveness earlier. Now freed, the world is Sir Ivan’s oyster, and he heads off to his fate as the Rangers look on amazed to end the episode.
This episode fired on all cylinders. The only misstep I can identify right off is that Phillip was just so great that he might have upstaged Ivan a bit. Other than that, this was a great episode that I enjoyed very much. Really, I’ve been enjoying this entire season, from attention to character and detail (shown in this episode with Sledge’s rage) to even things like blocking and cinematics (the shot of Phillip holding the Gold Energem in the foreground with the portrait of Ivan holding it in the background was masterful) and of course the work done by the actors (do I really have to say it again?). “Break Out” works well for me as an episode, though maybe slightly less as a Sixth Ranger introduction. We’ll get more chances for that, though, so I was quite satisfied with this one.
