[DreamSword]

Episode 10: Stakeout

This episode marks the third time that Jack uses his civilian power.

It's also the one where he and Syd argue about the importance of birthdays, with both sides having a point.

The overall plot of this one is very straight-forward: Syd wants to take the day off for her birthday, but Jack tells her that duty calls, and the two are tasked with keeping watch over a scientist that an alien criminal is after.

So while there isn't a whole lot going on in this one in terms of events, the real heart of it all, like most Power Rangers stories, is in the character development and interactions. Jack and Syd are catty with one another all through the episode, but they're able to work through it in the end.

While Jack does have a point that public safety is more important than your average birthday, he also learns how important birthdays can actually be to people, especially given his own upbringing where as far as he knew, he didn't even have a birthday. And as Jack is one to do, he in the end does what he can to make right by those he hurts.

As for Syd, while she does have a stance that many people do; Wherein working on your birthday does suck, she also comes to see how some people don't have it nearly as good as she does, as well as seeing Jack's' point that as a Ranger, the well being of others comes first. In the end, both are able to reconcile, and Syd decides that, since Jack doesn't have a birthday of his own, she'll share hers with him from now on. It's a very sweet gesture.

While the rest of the cast is very much in the background of this one, they do still get some little moments that are nice. My personal favorite being during Syd's' birthday at the end, wherein Sky's' idea of "lightening up" is to unzip his jacket a little bit. It always gets a chuckle out of me.

Even though this episode is pretty simplistic compared to all of the ones that came before it, it still makes for a good time via the great showcasing of what happens when Jack and Syd, two people of entire different classes, are paired up together. And I'm overall happy with it.

Oh, and this episodes marks the very first time that we see the K-9 Cannon both explode and contain a criminal at the same time. So again, while it is a thing, the feature is by no means "every episode" as some like to claim.