Actually no, it's just people having severely lack of knowledge regarding media, not getting exposed enough to media. Yeah many people in Indonesia are like that, only knowing handful of media or media traits, that are mainstream (typically the ones who got aired in TV, like Naruto for anime).

Like Sh Ranger said, Bima has a right to defend himself from the attacks. As long as ofc, he doesn't use excessive force, especially that if it's normal humans. I disagree with the notion of how heroes must not look out for themselves which some people say (and must be permanently in hardships), it's ok to be your best selves in your heroism (in this case, not being injured against the main threat). But this is one of villain's tactics to get the hero to stop, a hostage situation where they deliberately made heroes' choice potentially harm the people they'd protect. The end never justify the means, but unintentional bad outcome doesn't make the heroes bad.

Yeah, this one is nice for VUDO actually acting like what they're established as, of them wanting to bring life to Parallel World, but it comes at the cost of depriving the Earth from life itself. It's a situation where only one side can win, and VUDO doesn't care regarding the existing life. Though still Rasputin feels just like he wants to rule the world like typical overlord.

George went the way of Kiriya Kujo.

But hey, Andre, the kid who got beaten with a traffic cone, got to live, so that's something. Still a very violent episode though for sure.

The first half of the episode actually has a very interesting hook: With Ray in a coma from his injuries, Mikhail has to step back into the foray as the only one who can possibly stand up to the Vudo Empire.

I also liked how they called back to how Mikhail discovered that Ray could become Bima in the first place: With Mikhail offering a blood transfusion to save Ray's' life. They did link blood in the first episode, afterall. Unfortunately, it's part of what left Mikhail weak enough to be captured by Vudo.

The second half, while nice, is simply a reaffirmation of Ray's' heroic resolve. He might be battered and beaten down, but he's still willing to put his life on the line to save the planet he loves so dearly, with the fight against the Valcus Monster being a nearly one-sided beat down until Bima can find the perfect opening to exploit. It's a victory, but things are only looking to get worse from here.

But, yeah, the whole episode played out like a cross between a hospital soap opera and a superhero show, and I rather dug it. If there's one thing that BIMA has nailed almost consistently it's the atmosphere that it's gunning for, and I'm a sucker for that kind of thing. The longer it goes, the more I'm looking at it like Kuuga-lite(something I've seen OOO called), and trust me, that's only a compliment in my eyes.

For a show billed as kid's show (yeah, it's what Reino Barack established the show as, adult viewers are just bonus), they went the brutal way in George's fate, that he was outright killed, in a brutal way, albeit offscreen.

Yeah, Mikhail having the same blood type as Ray, and a really rare one at that, AB negative, is something that isn't just a throwaway here or small meaningful event just to keep the main protagonist alive.

Valcus Monster's brutality earns him 2 Helios Blaster shots.

It must be frustrating for Ray's family, that his adoption means they don't share blood and thus they can't help him the way they want to. Good thing Mikhail remembered he was a viable donor from their link in the first episode. However, not so good about VUDO capturing him in his weakened state. This is a major turning point for the show.

This was the first episode of Bima I watched RAW. I recall the subs were taking longer than usual that week and I was in suspense to find out what would happen to Ray.

Yeah, impalement via giant scorpion stinger isn't exactly the most pleasant way to go.

Yeah, and I imagine they feel atleast somewhat responsible for what happened too, given how they tailed him to the power plant for a pettyreason.

Wait, Gills!?


Anyway, there are two plots going on in this episode: The usual monster of the week plot, which features Cobra Commander up there stealing Indonesia's' gasoline supply, and then the plans that the Vudo Empire has for Mikhail.

And right up front, Randy proposes what I was thinking when it came to Mikhail: That he might actually be Reza; Having been taken prisoner instead of killed.

Another theory I'd had was that perhaps Reza had become Iron Mask after the previous one was retired, but this episode kinda shoots that down immediately. Speaking of Vudo, I did like how much Rasputin surprised me this episode; showing that he's not just your typical dumb, angry boss.

Because see, it seemed like such a cliche moment at first; saving Mikhail from being killed by Iron Mask for seemingly no reason. But then came the climax of the episode, wherein a new foe shows his face. A Dark Bima, powered by the Black Power Stone. And if it's somehow not a mind-controlled Mikhail I won't know what to think given the very obvious setup.

The Cobra plot by comparison is very standard, though it does have the funny angle of Rasputin trying for a stealthy approach, only to I guess not realize that Ray's' Power Stone can literally detect whenever they do, well, just about anything. Probably the smartest monster to date though, given that he just immediately nopes outta there as soon as Bima shows up. Very much unlike the Gills from Agito.

Very much looking forward to see more of this Black Bima in action next episode!

There's definitely a strong case for Mikhail being Reza at this point. I can see why you also suspected Topeng Besi, maybe due to his intense focus on Bima, but he still has his own story for another time to explain that.

Rasputin's pulling the old Rita Repulsa move of "make evil [x] to destroy [x]". I mean, he did have five Power Stones sitting around, with only Topeng Besi using Biru. May as well use another one to put more pressure on Bima. And if Mikhail's the user for Power Stone Hitam, then.... Well, I'll save that talk for next episode.

Yeah that was certainly a factor. Also partly due to how Iron Mask has been reluctant to fight Bima directly for some time now.

Makes me wonder if we could have a whole team of different Bimas, each with their own Power Stone: The Bima Rangers!

Mikhail under the influence of the Black Power Stone goes under a new name: Azazel.

It's telling that Bima only survives and wins the day in the end due to a conflict of interest between Azazel and Iron Mask.

Outside of that... there really wasn't much to this one? Once Azazel makes his exit he basically stays gone, and the Gills plot is very straightforward with Gas Boss making amends with his family. Bima threatening him directly was a pretty cool scene to see play out though.

As I've said before, that's not to say the episode was bad, it was just very direct and to the point. Though the hook at the end, with Azazel being promoted as the new Commander of Vudo over Iron Mask makes for some intrigue.

But... yeah. Not really much to say about this one other than that I liked what I saw, and I'm looking forward to more.

Although Bima doesn't have compatibility with every Power Stone and Azazel exclusively uses Hitam, there's still enough Stones and characters to have a hypothetical team of Satria Rangers!

And it's a bad*ss name for sure! Azazel has his own equivalent of Helios as well, Taranis. While Helios uses fire and wind elemental abilities, Taranis uses opposing darkness and thunder. I enjoyed this first fight between Bima and Azazel a lot!

For another PR reference here, I think Mikhail's and Topeng Besi's rivalry is similar to Trent's and Zeltrax's, with their contention for the top general spot. However, this also shows another side of Topeng Besi, that his rivalry isn't only limited to Bima, but to other Satria as well. He wants to destroy Satria, not affiliate with them and definitely not serve under them, so his demotion under the brainwashed Mikhail is a serious problem for him. Of course, it's also a serious problem for Ray, who's lost a mentor and gained an enemy.