REVIEW: Dino Super Charge 5 "Roar of the Red Ranger"
Is it possible for an episode to be enjoyable and a bit of a mess at the same time? I suppose Episode 5 answers that question for us in the affirmative. A keen eye on upcoming episode summaries would tell you that there is something quite significant in this episode, but maybe that’s part of the problem. Rather than going on at length with mysterious implications, it seems like this is as good a time as any to get into the episode to determine what went wrong and where, and what worked really well. Spoiler alert: there is something that did seem to go very very wrong, though I reserve the right to retract this if they address it next week.
To start off, I like how the episode opens on Fury attempting to win Heckyl over on a plan to defeat the Rangers without revealing exactly what the plan is. Instead of forcing the writers to come up with an idea that they don’t end up actually using, this just serves as an establishing moment to show how intent Fury is on getting into Heckyl’s good graces. It also works to give Singe some opportunities to lay down some burns on Fury. With an assist from his lackey Ninja (who is...wait for it...a ninja) Singe plans to disrupt the Rangers’ weapons using a computer virus. This episode features the same sort of plug-n-play biology that was on display during Power Rangers RPM, but at this point it’s practically established as being part of the world, so I’ll take it along with air in space and cryptozoology as a respected scientific discipline.
I’ve noticed online that some people find the dad storyline Tyler’s been working with to be a bit overdone. It’s a fair point, but I haven’t gotten tired of it myself. It makes sense that it would be a big deal for him, as we see when he introduces the rest of the team to his time capsule that he and his dad started years prior. It’s not really made clear how often they did this--Tyler says he continued the tradition, but not that it was, say, a yearly camping trip, and the map shenanigans imply he hasn’t been out there too often--but it works as a reminder of Tyler’s devotion to finding his father. It works so well, in fact, that it almost explains before the fact why Tyler reacts so poorly to Shelby’s entirely reasonable suggestion that his dad might be dead. After all, the reveal that we get in this episode is almost a worse explanation than hers. Also, Tyler’s age is placed at or around 18 in this episode, which is a bit younger than I’d thought, but I guess fits with his more playful nature.
While Tyler’s distracted regarding his father, Ninja rather easily infects the computer Kendall’s using to develop the T-Rex Supercharger, Tyler’s new power-up. It’s basically a battlizer, which is one of the two new things introduced in this episode, along with a plot resolution. As such, the episode feels more than a bit stuffed. That’s actually the least obtrusive negative this episode gets from me. I guess it could have worked, although I’d have made this a 2-parter. In any case, as stated, Tyler and Shelby discuss the issue regarding his father, and Shelby’s caution is in direct response to Tyler’s harebrained and incredibly dangerous idea to swim through a flooded cavern to find his father. I am completely on Shelby’s side here, and I think some of what Shelby is saying is also motivated by her relationship with her own father. But Tyler does make a good point that Shelby doesn’t really know what his father would have wanted. Mr. Watkins is a cool-headed realist, while James Navarro was (is) an adventurous explorer. These differences seem to come through in the way their children approach this issue.
Tyler’s somewhat childish tantrum leads him into the clutches of Ninja, and he’s hurt badly. Since Kendall is working on his Energem, and he doesn’t seem to have any Dino Chargers ready (?), he’s helpless until a mysterious newcomer saves him and disappears. Tyler recognizes him as the Aqua Ranger, and believes that maybe Rusty’s knowledge of the Energems is a bit more personal than he let on. Of course he’s still in cold-shoulder mode with Shelby, which...is a bit rough. I applaud Shelby for wanting to talk things over since the dad issue is a bit of a sore spot for Tyler, and I’m going to have to just accept that he was abandoned for years in order to let his attitude slide. I’m pretty sure that stonewalling is one of the Four Relationship Horsemen, Tyler. Unfortunately, the virus Ninja used makes the T-Rex Supercharger go haywire, causing Tyler to act like a dinosaur. This is a bit odd as far as evil plots go, but it does isolate Tyler from the group, so I suppose it’s effective. There’s a nice side bit when Kendall is sending the others to look for him where Chase grabs both of the remedial chargers out of Riley’s hands, to his annoyance.
Shelby suggests that they look for Tyler at his time capsule. Actually, Shelby’s pretty on fire this episode, and I say that without bias. The character moments in this episode are so solid, as they have been. In addition to the moment mentioned above with Chase and Riley, we get Shelby knowing Tyler very well, Koda tracking Ninja with his keen senses, and Shelby generally taking charge to save Tyler. In addition to Ninja, they now have to deal with Hunter, a hunter. Bet you didn’t see that one coming. But when Tyler doesn’t respond to the Hypnotize Charger, the Aqua Ranger steps in to talk Tyler down. It helps that he’s none other than James Navarro. This is where the episode sort of breaks down a bit for a couple of reasons. First of all, this episode has been compared to the Dark Heart saga of VR Troopers, but I don’t think it fits. James, as he later reveals, has had the Aqua Energem for years, which is why the Ankylo Zord was up and about since last year. Ryan’s father was a captive of Grimlord, but James was never held prisoner or trapped. There was little reason why he could not make contact with Tyler for all that time, unless we get a reason next week. This feels a bit hollow as a result, because it casts a shade over the happy reunion. I hope this is addressed, because this is a huge black mark if not.
Because of the Aqua Energem, James of course seems like more of a contemporary of Tyler’s than his father, though he’s still probably about a decade older. The seven (not eight, annoyingly enough) Rangers scare off Hunter and face Ninja. Unfortunately for Ninja, the next few minutes are a toy commercial to the extreme, because Tyler’s supercharged mode needs to be properly showcased and Ninja’s the perfect sacrificial lamb. Seriously, there is some insane shilling that occurs this episode. Every attack is preceded with “T-Rex Supercharge” for the name recognition. Tyler fights alone while the others watch. The toy issue is another problem, though it’s much more forgivable for many reasons. For one, this show is a toy commercial. That’s the primary purpose, so those are the marching orders. Secondly, it’s not as big a deal in the grand scheme; it doesn’t take up as much of the episode or story as Tyler’s search for James. And thirdly, it’s immediately forgotten when they call the Zords, because Kendall is once again not included in the fight despite the fact that they’re using her freaking zord. This is American footage. There should be no limitations here. Why is Kendall constantly being excluded?
Apart from that, the zord fight is pretty unremarkable. James gets a moment to react to the new experience, and then the Rangers take Ninja down pretty quickly. As far as resolution goes, we get a short moment between Tyler and Shelby where they reconcile, and a little explanation from Rusty and James regarding the Energems and the time frame, which makes it a bit creepy and cruel that James just abandoned his family. Maybe he was freaked out by the Energem’s effect on him, or maybe he was worried it would paint a target on their backs. I don’t know, but I hope the show gives us something. I can’t help but think that maybe it won’t, as the episode ends on Tyler and James playing catch in the forest, without Tyler bringing up any of the obvious issues that are raised by James’ reappearance.
“Roar of the Red Ranger” was not a terrible episode. While I recognize that it’s faint praise to say so, I do think that the overall mixed reception to this episode is warranted, though it’s accurate to say that there have been worse episodes. I did find it better than Episode 2 of Dino Super Charge, even though Forgive and Forget had less of an effect on the season or story as a whole. Really, the main things that prevented me from enjoying it were the deadbeat-James issue and the toy commercial aspect of the second half. I feel that maybe they should have taken a more Phantom Ranger-y path and introduced Aqua this episode, leaving Tyler feral until next episode when James talks him down and Tyler gets his Battlizer. I would have also thrown in some random plotty element that forced James to stay away from Tyler, probably something to do with their Energems that would be fixable later. And who knows? Maybe we’ll get something along those lines next episode. For now, I’m a bit disappointed but cautiously optimistic. I know Judd Lynn is equal to the challenge. Here’s hoping he lives up to his reputation.
