[DreamSword]

Before we start, I wanna give a slight correct to a claim I made about the premiere. In it, I said it was the only time we heard the Blue Heads talk, and these episodes proved me wrong... kinda. The climax features a Blue Head that isn't voiceless, but all it does is grunt. So, if you want to make the argument that it thus has a voice and as such "talks" then, sure, I won't counter that. Personally, I don't count it, but I could see if one wanted to. With that said, let's get into the second two-parter of the season.

Episodes 7+8: Sam

What exactly does a title signify?

On its face, that might sound like a pretentious question, but no, really. I'm asking because I feel it's important here.

Does it signify the most important aspect of the story? The most memorable? It is merely something to help the writer(s) remember which script is which? Or is it perhaps the indicator of the thing that the audience should be most focused on?

I bring this up because I feel like the title of this two-parter, "Sam" is important, as it signifies both an aspect and a character that I've seen many people outright ignore when it comes to certain aspects of SPD that I can't quite bring up as of yet. The titular Sam is important in more ways than one.

While these two episodes are technically our first episodes focused on Z, her spotlight is shared with Sam. It's through Sam that we learn more about Z and vise-versa, and it's something that I feel many viewers sort of either forget or ignore outright when it comes to these episodes. The two are mirrors of one another, and in terms of the narrative, very purposefully so.

Both are outcasts who became desperate for acceptance due them being born with powers that most "normal" people don't have. Growing up on the streets definitely didn't make life any easier either. But the big difference between the two is that whereas Z eventually found Jack, Sam has no one; Seemingly not even having any sort of parental figure in his life either. Sam is thus easily lead by his craving for acceptance, while Z has always had someone to keep her grounded.

Speaking of Jack, not only is this the second time that we get to see him use his power of phasing through objects, but including him in all of this was a very smart move. Given, as mentioned before, he grew up with Z, but also he too mirrors Sam in that Sam eventually grows the same intuition that Jack has. All throughout these two episodes we get some pretty solid hints as to the type of person that Sam will eventually grow up to be. Heck, he even becomes an SPD Cadet at the end.

But hey, Sam, Z, and Jack aren't the only ones with powers, right? All of B-Squad does, and it becomes a rather important plot point in these episodes, as we learn of the deeper connection that everyone has not only with eachother, but with SPD as a whole. Turns out it wasn't just Sky's' parents who worked with SPD, but so did the rest of the Squad's', with everyone eventually breaking off on different paths. And while it's glossed over in the episodes themselves, if one thinks about it, paints a very interesting picture of the kinds of parents our heroes were born to. Not everyone who works with the police is a 1000% goody-goody, you know.

On the technical side of things, these episodes also feature some of slickest action yet. It's relatively simple, but I've always loved the bit where Jack rebounds off of the fence in order to keep firing on the Orange Head. And the rest of the action is no slouch either. From the Orange Head's' cool lightning finisher move to the grenade discs that are revealed to be a part of the D-Rods, to the great hand-to-hand choreography that the franchise is known for, there's really never a dull moment in these episodes. Oh, and yes, there is a new elite mook known as an Orange Head and it does talk in this one. And while I think it's the only time that they will, I'm not 100% on that one, so we'll see. Either way, it puts up one heck of an impressive fight against our Rangers!

Since I brought up titles, I suppose I'll end things off with these piece of trivia: The reason that every title in SPD is one word is because this was Bruce Kalish's' first season as an executive producer, and as such he wanted every title to be one word as a subtle way to reflect that. I don't feel too strongly about it, but hey, I guess maybe I'm a sucker for shows that pull this sort of thing, given my love of shows like Kamen Rider Kuuga and SSSS.Gridman.

Overall, it's some wonderful character work as always with Power Rangers, and I await Sam's' promised return.

Oh, and this episode establishes that Bridge can read the minds of those he comes in direct contact with. Yeah, I can see why he needs to keep the glove on.