The one with the debut of a franchise mainstay - this guy.

Have to admit, when I first saw this episode, I thought the Orange Ranger would be real. But he does get to be one of the PCs in Super Legends (a game I have never played), so there’s that.

Also what happened to the bad guy when Boom pressed the delete key? Did he die? Get forced back into the real world where he could be arrested? Then again, it doesn’t matter that much, since neither is the most “bad guy gets away with it” outcome.

The Orange Ranger suit is real good!

I imagine he just kinda went poof.

Episode 17: Recognition

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_zsKQchRTM

I like this one. Though I don't feel it's perfect.

The setup is that a dangerous criminal known as Wootox manages to swap bodies with Sky, and plans to steal the Delta Command Megazord.

Now, that's all well and good, but that very setup of the episode has a pretty significant plothole. That being the question of why the Rangers decide that handcuffing Wootox is enough over trapping him in a card like usual.

But, if you're willing to overlook that, the rest of the episode makes for a decent thriller I suppose. The scenes with Sky in Wootox's' body are alot more compelling than the scenes with the reverse scenario though, and I think the main part of that is in RIC, who's another key player this time around.

See, the opening scene details how RIC tries to form a bond with Sky, just like how RIC did with Syd earlier in the show. And while RIC is also a key player in the climax, outside of those two scenes he doesn't do too much. I personally would've preferred more scenes with RIC rather than Wootox just kinda being creepy while in Sky's' body. It lets Chris Violette show off more of his acting, I guess?

It also doesn't help that despite there being scenes of the other Rangers noticing that something is up with Sky, none of them really act on it? Even Jack, who normally looks into such things. Though to Jack's' credit, he is the one with the idea to throw the ball at the end. But outside of that, the only one to put two-and-two together is Cruger, and only because he stumbles upon a crime in progress. It's a pretty mixed bag all around.

But, for what the episode ended up being, I did still enjoy it. I just wish that there were either more scenes of RIC, or of RIC and Sky together, kinda like how the Syd episode was.

So this is another direct adaptation of the Japanese script, only omitting the details that the Rangers have no idea who the criminal is or what he’s done (hence why they bring him in) and Blue isn’t the first body “Wootox” has body swapped into to escape punishment for his crimes: he’s been doing it for 1000 years on multiple people. Though one thing they bizarrely didn’t change is the inner monologue wherein Blue notes that he’ll be “deleted on sight” in his alien body. “Deleted” being Dekaranger’s term for blowing up the monsters. Essentially, it was a death penalty that incinerated the corpse afterwards to ensure they couldn’t be cloned or bought back as a zombie.

I love the little exchange after they morph.

"Big deal!"

"Yes, it is."

Never change Sky.

Two-Face Ginyu was certainly something to adapt, but I'm glad they did, even if there's a few rough spots. Plus, watching Sky walk around like he's trying to star in a slasher movie is a hoot.

Aaand Sky was willing to kill his body to stop a crook. Put some respect on him.

So assuming most of the rest of the episode flows basically the same... is the Dekranger squad just ignorant of like, everything around them alot of times, or?

Sky was real good this episode, for sure.

Episode 18: Samurai

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPV33Q-YqAY

Believe it or not, this is another of my personal favorite episodes from SPD.

The premise being that an alien samurai from hundreds of years ago ends up getting pulled into the future, and Gruumm takes advantage of it.

There's alot to unpack with this episode, so bear with me. First off, it establishes a natural anomaly in the Power Rangers universe: That rifts in space-time can just open randomly at times. This is important for later.

Second, the episode establishes that Cruger has started teaching Jack swordsmanship. Which makes sense. Jack doesn't have the Delta Rods like the other Rangers do, and thus would need the extra practice in melee combat. It's not like he's Syd, who's already a fencer.

Third, Gruumm here ultimately doesn't care if the Rangers are destroyed are not. Sure, it'd be nice, but his real goal is to steal a large supply of a special metal that strengthens other metals. This is the second time he's pulled a major heist(the first being the diamonds from awhile back). It once again shows that the Emperor of Evil can make more tactics than simply blowing things up.

Fourth, we get more cool showcasings of the civilian powers here, with the only person missing out being Syd, which is a shame. This is the fifth time that Jack gets to use his power, Sky shows that he's able to fire his shield off as a projectile, and we once again get to see Bridge read minds. And while it might seem a bit odd that the others are surprised at Bridge since he's read minds infront of them before, maybe they're more shocked that he didn't need direct contact this time? Eh, it's whatever.

And last, this episode features two things that appeal to me big time: Stylish swordplay and an intriguing atmosphere. Being an episode featuring swords so heavily, we get to see some pretty cool action sequences, with the final duel between Katana and Jack being pretty nice to see play out. Heck, the whole episode has some surprisingly good shots throughout it, which only does even more to carry the overall mood of the story.

Now, it's not perfect. There are some minor hiccups here and there such as Cruger somehow knowing Morrato's' name, and the fake Shadow Saber that Jack has somehow turning back into a Saber during the last few moments of the episode. But again, it's minor stuff, so I'm not really stressing over any of it. I'm far more enthralled by over just how much stuff this episode sets up for the future as well as the cool dynamic Jack has with both Cruger and Katana throughout this one. Cruger with his usual sly dog way of mentoring, and Katana's' honor being, well, honored Jack was some great stuff to see play out.

From what circles I've been around, this episode isn't really talked about all that often, which is totally fine, but I just personally dig it alot.

I wonder what's up with that sprite that came out of the time vortex at the end of the episode though? How curious...

In which Jack develops an obsession with using the Shadow Saber never seen before or after because… the source footage has Red using it.

Also as a relic of the Sentai episode that’s slightly less notable than the “deleted on sight” line from last episode, the samurai Katana meditates wih in the exposition sequence is played by DekaRed’s actor (since in the equivalent Dekaranger episode, he was Red’s ancestor)

It's less an obsession and moreso a fixation due to the circumstances. It also disappears after this episode because Jack learned his lesson.

Episode 19: Dismissed

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdpZ1LE97so

This is an episode that hits way harder for me as an adult than it did as a kid.

Because I've seen how true to real life this scenario is: Where someone at the top thinks they know better than everyone else solely due to their title.

And thankfully, Supreme Commander Birdy isn't portrayed as being in the right or even any sort of sympathetic in this scenario. His expectations are ridiculous, his leadership is awful, and he shuts out any voice that isn't his.

All he ends up doing is making the lives of everyone at the Earth Branch of SPD even harder, especially after firing Cruger. It only gets worse when Gruumm arrives on Earth, accepting an earlier challenge that Cruger sent out. And he has a sick bike ontop of that.

Speaking of which, this is the second "bike" episode, as Shadow Ranger also gets his ATV during the episode's' climax. And just like with the first bike episode, this one features an uptick in fireballs; though not as many as what the first one had. And at this point, it seems clear to me that the "slo-mo explosions" that some obsess about during the "Kalish Era" of Power Rangers are really only pronounced specifically for the vehicle episodes in SPD.

My hot take? I actually support it, because it ends up meaning that both of the aforementioned episodes end up having their own unique style in terms of the stunt and camera work. And it's not like the more tradition PR style of action is totally gone either, because plenty of that gets to be seen during both Megazord fights as well as the fight against the monster of the week.

There's some little things that stand out in hindsight too, such as Birdy noting that Katt deserves a promotion, the flashback of Cruger cutting off one of Gruumm's' horns, and I just love the Mexican flavoring of the MOTW's' design. This episode has a surprisingly solid balance of action and story, with both happening almost simultaneously.

It didn't suddenly become one of my favorite episodes, but it is one I've definitely grown to appreciate more during this rewatch.