REVIEW: Dino Super Charge 6 "Forged Under Fire"
Another mixed outing from Dino Super Charge. Last week I was looking forward to an explanation of a pretty serious issue that I had with the writing. We got the explanation this week, but that’s not the only thing we got, good or bad. The last few episodes haven’t been bad, but they haven’t quite reached what we saw in the first season. Let’s sift through what occurred and see what we did have here.
First of all, I have to recant my comments about James’ disappearing act last week. As anticipated, James explains that he did in fact leave because Fury chased him off. Once he bonded with the Aqua Energem, he did not feel that he could stay with his family and put them in danger. This brings up another point, though: where’s Tyler’s mom? Is she still alive? Actually, if they’re not going to write for her, that could have been something else to underline the danger and make it clear that James’ decision was the right one to make. If Fury had, say, killed or captured Tyler’s mom, and James left him with an aunt and uncle because he blamed himself for her death/capture, it would have really supported his disappearance. In any case, it’s okay that he just saw that their lives would be endangered by his remaining there and left.
Tyler seems to have gotten over this issue really well. I’m not sure if he’s just stuffing down his real feelings or if he’s genuinely forgiving James, but I don’t think this is the right show to go into the complex issues of domestic fracturing. In any case, we get a pretty funny scene where James gets the lowdown on the other Rangers, including Koda, a real-life caveman, Ivan, a real-life knight, and Phillip, the real Prince of Zandar. Seeing James’ brain explode more and more as he went down the line was hilarious. Unfortunately, James seems to be more Kiwi than the rest of the cast (with the exception of Chase) so his lines are rather obtrusively dubbed. It’s mildly noticeable in the beginning, but there are some Rita Repulsa-esque line deliveries later in the episode that took me right out.
Singe is back with Hunter this week, and his plan to neutralize the Rangers’ power is actually not a bad one. I like how his rivalry with Fury continues to be a plot point here; it’s handled so much better than Vrak/Creepox was during Megaforce. For one thing, these guys are actually given room to exist before they get destroyed later on (speculation) so we know them better when they’re involved in complex story situations. Also, they seem a bit more intelligent on the whole. While I did respond well to Megaforce’s “Prince Takes Knight,” I feel that the interactions between Heckyl and his two generals work better than those between Malkor and Vrak. It makes sense to have Fury interrupt Singe’s scheme because he feels it won’t work, and for Singe to neutralize Fury in return as revenge for getting in the way.
Of course if I’m mentioning fights, I have to once again point out the constant stream of chatter that seems to be going nowhere. It almost seems as if executive meddling is going on, because I would assume the writers have been given a directive not to let the fights breathe. It appears as if they just don’t want to have moments where no one is talking or explaining exactly what is happening on screen. It’s not even really exposition, it’s just really obvious stuff that is happening while they’re bizarrely narrating it. I got frightening SPD flashbacks when I first saw the episode, because Singe has the Rangers at his mercy and says “Come on Hunter” leading me to believe he was going to leave the fight without grabbing the neutralized Energems. Luckily, Phillip and James jump in to cover the other Rangers as they all escape.
Keeper shows up for his one scene an episode when the Rangers regroup at the base, hoping to free their Energems and get back in the fight. Unfortunately, their efforts to bust the rings off cause Tyler’s Energem to crack, and Tyler and James have to basically dip it in magma to reseal the crack. Props to the casual mention of the butterfly loop knot they use, because not only is it a legitimate knot that would be used in such a situation, but the one they use on screen appears to be the right one. There’s a positive I can definitely give the episode; they had an accurate portrayal of knots and lashing. I can’t say the same about continuity, sadly. There are two continuity flubs in this episode. One is when James wants to stop Tyler from burrowing into the ground--Tyler claims to be the only one who used Dino Armor X. I can handwave that by saying he meant of the two Rangers present, as Chase wasn’t around. The second mistake is harder to get around. While the Rangers fight Fury in the Megazord, Tyler somehow uses Tyranno Supercharge mode to fight Singe and Hunter.
Another positive of the episode is that it gives us an organic unmorphed fight scene between the Rangers and a monster as well as allowing Kendall and Phillip to get back into battle. It’s been so long since we’ve seen Kendall as the actual Purple Ranger in combat that it’s very refreshing to see her, even if it’s only because literally none of the core Rangers could morph. Also, Tyler’s new ability to use miniature versions of the Zords as weapons for his Tyranno Supercharge mode is interesting. I don’t think we have ever seen anything like that. As Tyler destroys Singe’s control device, the other Rangers are able to morph once more and defeat Hunter, and Tyler himself takes down Singe for now, leading to a great scene where Heckyl chides Fury and Singe for their inability to work together.
It would be wrong of me not to mention, though, that as the fight begins James’ face is just...what is this I don’t even. I mentioned how his line readings and dubbed stuff is kind of obtrusive in this episode, but this shot takes the cake. I suggested to my girlfriend the first time I watched this episode that maybe he was doing a joke reading of the line for the outtake reel, and somehow that version made its way into the episode as a prank. I hope that's the explanation and that this wasn't seriously the way this actor was told to read the line. I have no idea what the actor or director decided going into this scene; this should never have happened.
“Forged Under Fire” is a better episode than the one prior, and it corrected some of the issues that were present in James’ storyline. However, the huge continuity error with Tyranno Supercharge mode and the issues with the characters who would. not. shut. up. were significant detractions from my enjoyment of the episode. I also did like when James repeated Tyler’s words back to him about how the world is their responsibility, but I didn’t really like how that meant James had to leave. There’s no reason why he should have to pull a Ryan and scour the globe when everywhere on Earth is literally one Plesio Zord ride away. It came off as James not wanting to accept that his role in Tyler’s life is different now because Tyler isn’t a child anymore. I hope we get to see some more of the B-Team Rangers (Kendall, James, Phillip) even though I know there’s not too much in the way of footage. And finally, I hope the quality improves. It’s sad to say this, but this show can and should be better.
