REVIEW: Dino Charge 19 "Wishing For A Hero"
As predicted, the Purple Energem saga continues in this episode. Power Rangers has done wishing episodes before, most notably the Dark Wish 3-parter in Mystic Force and a group of episodes back in Turbo. Reality-warping tends to be a strange power, generally limited only by the imagination of the characters (and the budget, obviously). I’ve heard it said that Dino Charge hasn’t really broken new ground as far as PR, but part of what makes it enjoyable is what twists it puts on familiar subject matter. So let’s see what we get here.
Going into the first scene with the construction workers I noticed pretty early on that we don’t see any of their faces. I figured it was either that they were important to the story or that the extras weren’t getting paid as much. I did note Kendall looking pretty significantly in either direction before walking across the construction area. To be honest I didn’t notice the voices, though in hindsight there’s at least one worried grunt coming from Chase at this point when the rope breaks, sending a huge pallet of cement swinging toward Kendall’s head. It’s only when the Rangers popped their heads out of the construction equipment as a random swoops in to save Kendall that I realized that it’s a setup. Confirming this hypothesis is the Purple Energem tumbling from Kendall’s purse. Kendall’s been established as a bit too independent to just stand around and let someone else get her stuff for her, so as she’s waiting there for the man who saved her to pick up her things it’s clear that she wants him to touch the Energem. Unfortunately for all the Rangers involved, everyone in Amber Beach is either too greedy, self-absorbed or lazy to trigger the stone’s power. Not to get too political, but given recent events, it’s not surprising.
Fury and the MoTW, Wishtar, overhear the Rangers regarding the unbonded energem. I have to say, Wishtar’s name is apt considering his godlike power. I’m guessing he was separated from any writing utensils while imprisoned, because there’s no way any cell would be able to hold him. Literally every wish he casts or someone casts via his power comes true, though there’s a catch: he’s essentially a living, breathing Monkey’s Paw. So when the Rangers (sans, of course, Riley) run into a street huckster advertising wishing cards that have been enchanted by him, their wishes all turn sour. Koda’s burger gives him food poisoning, Ivan’s quick rescue of a damsel gives him a backache, Chase’s new side-piece breaks his heart and his skateboard (inconceivable!), Shelby’s date (gurl?) with Tyler ends with soap in her eyes and ants in their picnic, and Tyler’s “father” leads him right into Wishtar’s clutches. Both this and the opening scene are pretty humorous, as Dino Charge’s humor game has been on point all season. I was a little iffy on the return of toilet humor--this season is definitely the one containing the most at the point, though it doesn’t bother me personally--but I enjoyed the sequence for what it was, and I assume the target audience did too.
Upon learning of the Rangers’ attempts to find a new Purple Ranger, Sledge’s new plan at this point is to send a humanoid space criminal named Heckyl down to Earth to grab the Energem. Heckyl gets a lot of buildup in this episode, given that he’s in the solitary confinement cell. He is also ridiculously powerful as we see in the episode; he manages to vaporize his guards and nearly cause a prison break within like five minutes of being let out of his cell. He’s a charismatic character with a sort of Evil Doctor look about him. There’s a funny story as described by Chip Lynn himself regarding this character’s outfit that’s worth a read to appreciate some of the constraints behind the scenes, but the scene itself is seamless, so great work to everyone involved.
Back on Earth, Shelby manages to rescue Tyler from Wishtar, which is an interesting role-reversal. I appreciate that they’re really making sure that Shelby is just as on top of things as the rest of the crew, especially since she’s thus far the only female Ranger. Personally, I feel that she’s pretty much exactly as I’d want a female character to be written: competent, fierce and strong, but not a Mary-Sueish paragon of perfection. She works hard and is passionate about what she believes in, but she still gets comic relief scenes just like one of the guys, even down to the toilet humor punchline a few episodes back with the triceratops poop. She doesn’t have to be overbearing or rude to be powerful, and “girl” is not one of her primary character traits. Again, great work to the writers and to Camille Hyde for bringing this character to our screens. Once Tyler and Shelby figure out that Wishtar is the one creating the wishes--and disappointments--they head back to the base, only to find that Kendall has gone off to wish for a Purple Ranger.
While this seems a teensy bit out of character for the straight-laced scientist, I can’t ignore her creation of the love-potion battery a few episodes back. To be honest, I’d side-eye this harder if Kendall didn’t conclude that it might be a good idea to try it. I can get behind Riley remaining stubbornly against it, but Kendall is a different story. According to the research she’s done, she’s got enough information to form a working theory that despite what she’s familiar with, wishes can come true under certain circumstances. It would be intellectually dishonest not to use every effort at her disposal for something so important. For me, that simply brings across how desperate and serious the situation truly is. Unfortunately, given that her conversation with Ivan comes before the Rangers realize the ultimately negative outcomes, she doesn’t realize that she’s walking right into a trap.
On the other hand, I think it’s to the show’s benefit not to show exactly what Kendall writes down. I actually wondered about this later because of what transpires here. If I had to guess, I’d assume it’s something along the lines of “someone proves themselves worthy of the Purple Energem” since Heckyl then pulls her out of the path of an oncoming car. But before she can hand it to him, Wishtar blasts them all and grabs the energem. He quickly loses it to Fury, who leaves him to fight them all alone. I’m not sure why they didn’t chase him, but maybe they figured they needed to take care of the monster issue right in front of them. Also, interestingly, Heckyl wants to preserve his identity over potentially getting an energem. He's really quite an enigmatic character, and I hope to see more of him.
To be honest, most of the actual superheroics seem kind of tacked on this episode. The first time the Rangers engage Wishtar while morphed occurs five minutes before the end of the episode. However, one notable issue is that Wishtar is limited by a couple of things. As long as he has time to write a wish and something to write on/with, he utterly curb-stomps the Rangers. As soon as neither of those are the case, he loses practically instantly, both as a normal-sized monster and as a giant. He’s like a glass cannon; he can dish it out but he can’t take it. However, it’s already too late to stop Sledge from getting his new Energem-powered gun. Again, as I stated earlier, Heckyl is really powerful, given that he goes toe-to-toe with the gun that Wrench worried would destroy their ship. He gets blasted into his cell, but vows revenge, and I think he’s going to get it, honestly. He’s got long-term potential. The ending scene is the Rangers licking their wounds, having to deal with really and truly losing an Energem to Sledge as Keeper tries to persuade them to stay positive. The only choice they have is to storm his freaking spaceship.
The excitement is intensifying. I really like how this season’s energy is building up to this final confrontation, and I can only assume that whatever happens here is going to set the tone for next year’s adventure once Dino Supercharge starts. I’m actually really excited, not just for the wrap-up of the season, but for the wrap-up of the Purple Energem plot. If what I believe the is ultimate identity of the Purple Ranger is true--and there was actually a pretty prominent clue to that in this episode if so--then they can really make this finale sing. As an aside note, I didn’t really mention that there were reused suits in this episode--Necrolai and Beevil to be exact--because it’s just a small moment. If we were to have seen a Dairanger in the background (or, you know, the foreground) without comment, that would have been a different story. In any case, it’s time to move out and get ready for One More Energem, so: get hype.
