REVIEW: Dino Charge 12 "Knight After Knights"
Last week I considered the episode a strong introduction episode, but for Prince Phillip rather than Ivan, the former of whom simply dominated the opening acts of "Break Out." It did seem from episode summaries that this episode would deal more with Ivan and his place on the team (or off it). While I'm not sure any other Sixth Ranger intro has done that, I think it was a defensible choice to do so. But enough about last episode; with a shiny new Ranger and a shiny new intro, let's see what this episode has in store.
And I'm going to have to break that decree immediately, because the opening scene is of Sledge berating Fury for his failure. Apparently the new monster Bones can steal someone's symbolic courage by Mortal Kombat-ing their backbone right out of them (not literally though). I have to give them props, because despite my observation last week they manage to refrain from outright calling Fury a cowardly lion when Bones demonstrates his ability on him. It was just a fun moment all around, with Poisandra gleefully taunting Fury in the background. I can't help but feel that a weaker series would have hammered in the Wizard of Oz reference.
In contrast with this infighting and schadenfreude, the Rangers introduce Ivan to the wonders of modern tech to show him how to use his new set of Dino Chargers. I know a lot of people have commented on the Chiley ship, and given how I gush about Shyler every time they share a scene--as I'm probably about to do--I think the guys deserve equal consideration. I personally don't see it from Chase's side, but I guess the line about "another use for the Energem" had some subtext there. The thing is, I can't really pay as much attention to the ship in the latter half of the scene, because as Tyler is journaling he flashes back to the events of last episode. The flashback could have been a lot shorter in my opinion. We really only needed the scene of Tyler turning Ivan over and recoiling in shock.
Shelby comforts Tyler while correcting his spelling (lol) with an assist from Koda, and wow, they're really giving these two heartfelt scenes, hmm? The important part of the scene, however, comes when Ivan heads out to consider his decision before joining the team. It's clear that Shelby is indignant about this, which goes with the passion she's displayed in other episodes, most notably the premiere and "The Royal Rangers." At this point I could see the conflict incoming, given Ivan's reasoning and Bones' existence, but sometimes it's better to be vindicated than shocked. Speaking of Bones, his power level seems to fluctuate this episode. I guess it's established in the subsequent fight that he's a match for five but not six Rangers, but the episode also implies Sixth Ranger Debut Power after putting Ivan in peril, so...yeah. This episode also had a bit of the “chatty fighting” that characterized Tzachor-era PR, as well as the repetition of the “hotshot” moniker for Chase, which isn’t exactly my favorite. I did think it was a nice touch for the villains to run off at the sight of Ivan, only for Sledge to turn around and order them back down to Earth to get Ivan and Shelby’s backbones too.
The humor is strong in this episode, though. While Shelby is occupied trying to persuade Ivan, Bones ambushes the rest of the team and steals their courage, leading to scene after scene of comedy gold, pun completely intended. First, we get an ironic cut to the "lily-livered fools" after Shelby has talked up their bravery, then Ivan's hilarious recruitment of random citizens who he deems worthy, to Shelby's hilarious attempts to get the guys back home. Michael Taber’s delivery of “What is wrong with you, SHELBY?” had me dying. I really like how the ladies are being developed this season, too; we got a callback to the premiere again when Kendall and Shelby discuss their next move followed by a cut to the guys screaming and running away from a lab rat. There’s also Shelby’s completely logical argument to Ivan that the Rangers have already proven themselves worthy by freeing him from captivity, which would have worked had Bones not stolen their courage. But the crowning moment of funny comes when Ivan has finally assembled his team of mighty warriors and heads out to face Bones on the battlefield.
I just...I can’t even. (Special Thanks to prsamuraicast on YouTube)
On a more serious note, I actually like the fact that they seemed relatively fearless until the Viviks showed up. To the Rangers and the audience, the Viviks are just grunts, but to the “Knights of Amber Beach,” the three randoms (who we know to be Poisandra, Curio and Bones) are just standing out there doing nothing particularly scary. Once the Viviks materialize out of nowhere, though, it’s a completely different story. But the humor of the scene is top notch, from the awesomesauce Power Walk to the bad melonfarmer smirk on Ivan’s face as they saunter onto the battlefield to the great incidental music right out of a Tarantino movie. Really, I covet that music. Hint hint, PRUnreleased. Continuing, while Shelby catches up to Ivan, we get a nice scene of the mentor being a mentor as Keeper helps persuade the scared rabbit Rangers to help Ivan and Shelby. He sagely notes that only a symbol of their courage was taken, not the actual courage, and they only think they have reason to be afraid. I’m a huge fan of the work this show has done to really make Keeper a presence even if they can’t have him onscreen too often.
Following that, we get some more scenes of Shelby being awesome, but thankfully (?) she gets subdued before she hogs too much of the limelight. I’m all for competent Rangers, and I’m glad she is powerful despite Kendall’s misgivings at first, but I’m not looking for another Mary Sue who shows the boys up at every turn, coughcoughSummerLandsdowncoughcough. The combined efforts of Shelby and Ivan prove too much for Bones, and he gets annihilated. Some notes for this scene include my delight at a shiny new six-person morph sequence, the return of Zandar Thunder, and more chatty fighting...two out of three isn’t bad. Also, like the new morph sequence, the Megazord sequence isn’t bad, and there’s actually some combat beyond “form giant robot, use finisher.” I think Kyoryuger may have taken a page from Go-Buster’s playbook for the Megazord scenes (sadly, only a page rather than the whole book), but it’s still a debut-ish focus episode for Gold and Pink, so there’s not too much tension. I’m alright with assuming that Bones’ destruction returned Fury’s courage, but who knows, maybe there’ll be some weird thing where they manage to have a bunch of scenes with a sniveling cowardly Fury from now on. I wouldn’t put it past Chip to be capable of it, though I don’t expect him to. To end the episode, we get a nice scene of Ivan telling the whole story behind his abduction by Fury (with a hilarious gloss-over of the capture and eight-centuries-long imprisonment) and his formal induction onto the team as the Gold Ranger. I think it’s implied that Fury absorbed Ivan in response to Ivan bonding with the Gold Energem, but I’m not entirely sure.
“Knight After Knights” really worked for me as a proper introduction to Ivan. We saw his loyalty and bravery as his main traits, which were hinted at in the last episode when he immediately bowed to Phillip and earlier in the season when he acted in defense of Tyler. We also saw Shelby’s passion and logic come to the fore once again when she persuaded Ivan to join the Rangers, first through argument and later through her own valor along with the rest of the team. I personally always love when Rangers are shown to be both ordinary and extraordinary, as the guys regained their courage through sheer force of will, in contrast with the Knights of Amber Beach who had good hearts but didn’t have what it takes. I know this episode was somewhat divisive, but despite my feelings on the Riley focus episode I don’t think Dino Charge has had a bad episode yet. Let’s hope episodes to come can keep this level of strength going.
