[DreamSword]

Just so we're clear, this post is not an April Fool's Day joke. While I was considering doing one, I ended up deciding against it, as I felt none of the ideas I came up with were very good. With that out of the way, let's get into today's episode review.

Episode 4: Walls

This is our first episode focused on Sky... technically. Lemme explain.

While Sky is definitely the head of the episode and his character is the one that's most developed, this episode juggles quite alot at once.

Notably, we get alot of established character traits on the rest of the team too. Bridge is a mechanic, Z dislikes cutesy things, Syd is likes everyone to be playful, and probably most importantly, Jack's' intuition is usually on point.

Still, Sky is the headliner in all this right? While the overall idea of knocking him down a peg is definitely still in effect, this episode specifically is more about getting him to trust in his team more and not act as if he has to be number 1 all the time.

Case in point, not only does his stubbornness cause the mission to ultimately end in failure, had he stopped to not try and be so "above it all" he would've seen how much his talents and presence are desired by the rest of the team. In universe, Sky doesn't get a new motorcycle because he already does fine without one, and it's because his combat skills are so good that Jack trusted him on guard duty.

But, right, the motorcycles. While the in-universe justification for why only Jack and Bridge get them is fine enough, in a meta sense, well, it's not great. From what's been said in interviews and at cons, the real world reason for why the bikes were handled the way they were is because Disney wanted new toys to advertise, but didn't want to spend too much money on props. Adding onto that, the reason why Z and Syd are stuck in a hummer is because, in Disney's' words, "No one wants to see girls riding around on motorcycles."

And that brings me to the other major aspect of this episode: That it's essentially one gigantic action sequence. And honestly? I'm here for it. It definitely helps that not only is alot of the action very fun to watch, but the episode has just enough character interaction and development to keep things interesting. There's a story to this mini-action movie, and it never feels like one aspect is totally drowning out the other or is that anything is really out of place.

Well, I say that, but I suppose this episode is as good as any to address one big elephant in the room when it comes to the actions sequences in SPD: The explosions. For those not in the know, a certain (in)famous internet reviewer coined the term "Kalishsplosions" in regards to how the style of pyrotechnics used in this season got shaken up compared to past Power Rangers shows. Said review thought up this term because he apparently has no idea what role an executive producer actually plays and thus blamed Bruce Kalish for "the overuse of giant fireballs." (Paraphrased)

So let's address this here and now. Is there an increase in fireball explosions? Yes. Is it anywhere near as bad as what said reviewer, and consequently much of the viewerbase likes to exaggerate? No. If one was to believe them, they'd think that every second of every action sequence was nothing but Michael Bay-esque explosives. And while the extended motorcycle action sequence in this episode does make frequent use of them, I think many viewers are totally missing how exactly they're utilized here. They really only happen whenever a big group of mooks is getting blown up all at once, and is a way to showcase how strong the firepower of these new vehicles really is in comparison to the usual weapons out heroes use.

With that out of the way, all aspects of the action in this one are alot of fun! It's not just the new bikes, but also the brief hand to hand combat and of course the typical Megazord fight. Really, any complaints I have about this episode are actually rather minor such as how the Delta Max Striker is erroneously called the Delta Max Blaster here(and, infact, the show will flip-flop between these two names going forward), and how the Pink Ranger is wearing red boots at times for some reason(though that's more the fault of the stock footage). When it comes to the high energy of the fighting and the more down to earth moments with Sky, I feel like this episode did a nice job at showcasing both.

Sky certainly has a tough exterior, but he does still have a playful side, a petty side, and isn't immune to rash decisions. Just like anyone else, he is human.