[DreamSword]

Episode 5: Dogged

If the opening fooled you into thinking that this was the first Bridge episode, I wouldn't blame you.

Yes, this episode is the origin of the famous "buttery" line/tick for Bridge. And yes, it is very funny and helps to further establish Bridge as a quirky guy. I'm not hating on this moment in the slightest!

Another funny story we learned thanks to Matt Austin though: Bridge's' "buttery" bit came about when he was making casual conversation with some of the showrunners, and he did the now famous hand gesture as a joke, thinking nothing more of it. Then the very next day it was added to the script.

Anyway, this episode has shared focus between Syd and RIC, the robo dog!

And I won't lie, this is one of my favorite episodes in all of SPD. Sure, it helps that I'm a sucker for canines, but this episode just does a whole lot for not just helping to establish and develop Syd, but also introduces even more cool and unique aspects to the show as a whole ontop of helping to set up a few things in regards to future episodes.

So one might immediately think, "then why the opening with Bridge?" Well not only is it funny and helps to showcase him a bit more, it sets the stage for the important role that he and Boom play later on, as well as giving us more look into Syd's' distaste for machinery. See, that's the thing in all of this: Being a spoiled rich girl, Syd has trouble seeing machines, and especially robots, as anything other than junk to be replaced.

This is what brings us to RIC, the robot companion(so I guess you could call him this season's' Alpha-5) who hasn't done too much outside of the premiere. And the reason for that is that RIC's' technology has become outdated over the years, and he still barely functions, and as a result is set to be decommissioned. Despite this, RIC still has all the heart and feelings of a loyal canine. Despite the rejection he faces, he still does what he can to support the team, and even tries to make a bond with Syd despite her initial objections.

But after a bout of heroism, Syd begins to have a bit of a change of heart. I think it spoke volumes how she not only went through the effort of getting RIC rebuilt, but I don't think I'll ever forget the scene where she spends an entire day digging in the spot that RIC points towards when the squad is looking for evidence. The spoiled rich girl, having such strong faith in a robot to the point that she doesn't care that she started getting covered in rain and mud. Syd's' not heartless, and it's been shown that she puts more faith in others than most do; Like how she did with Sky just last episode.

And in the end, not only is RIC re-accepted as an honorary member of SPD, but he even gets to turn into the Team Cannon for the season! I always loved the K-9 Cannon not only for its connections to an actual character, but in how unique it is compared to other Cannons that Power Rangers has had before and since. There's not even a Megazord fight following its debut. Heck, there's one specific scene with it in a later episode that I hope I remember to call out, as it's another example of what I'm going on about.

If it seems like I'm avoiding talking about the plot for this one, well, I'm not. It's just that there isn't too much to it. And the reason it's probably not given too much focus in the episode itself is because it's the sort of thing that could've easily been way darker had they dived into it. In short: It's an episode where a monster turns people into slime. Slime that can be used up to power machinery. Don't think about it too much.

Oh, and this episode also is the first instance wherein we see that Bridge likes to think about things via doing headstands. This episode is just a great time all around, man.