[DreamSword]

Well, I stand fully corrected on my tidbit about both the Blue and Orange Head robots. Turns out they do infact talk at multiple points throughout the show, as the first of these two episodes shows. My mistake, I legit just outright forgot. With all that said, let's get into this one.

Episodes 11+12: Shadow

This is arguably the most popular two-parter amongst fans of Power Rangers SPD.

And honestly, if not for a different two-parter we'll see a little ways down the road, it'd probably be mine too.

The title of "Shadow" holds multiple meanings for these episodes.But at its bare essence, it talks about the shadows looming over a good chunk of the cast, as well as the arrival of arguably the Sixth Ranger of the season.

But before we dig into the main dish, let's go over all of the other good stuff laid out on the table before us. Because while the episode is almost entirely about the backstory of Anubis "Doggie" Cruger, many other characters have rather good showings here.

Most notable to me is Katt, who also gets a solid bit of development here, what with it being established that she's been good friends with the Commander for a long time now, which is why she's able to talk to him more directly than anyone else, and is the key to getting him to do what he needs to. It's also shown that she knows how to fight, which is important for later.

There's alot of fun to be had with the casting and directing here as well. For instance, Rene Naufahu, the voice actor for Emperor Gruumm, gets to play a civilian whom Gruumm steals the likeness of in this one. And he still kills it on every front. For those not in the know, Naufahu would later go on to play Mentor Ji in Power Rangers Samurai. So yeah, the guy for sure has range. I always love the Gruumm monologue scenes.

Surprisingly, these two episodes were also written by Bruce Kalish himself, showing that he actually can pull this sort of thing off; Especially in terms of dialogue. The climax of the episode has a sequence that I've often heard quoted by fans. And the direction this time is done by Mark Beesley, who, while not utilizing nearly as much visual storytelling as Charlie Hakell did for "Idol" does still managed to capture the dramatic tone needed to pull these episodes off; All while the transitions between stock footage are just as smooth.

But now we get to the big dog in all of this: Commander Cruger. This episode is all about him. His backstory, his attitude, his grief over his past failures, as well as the climax which shows that, while he might be old, he's still got it and is the head of SPD's' Earth Branch for a reason. And yes, he does indeed become the Shadow Ranger here, which, while it's common knowledge now, was a major twist back when this show first aired. It's not often you get to see the mentor characters throw down in Power Rangers, and even less often you get to see them become a Ranger themselves!

So let's talk about the Shadow Ranger for a bit. First off, he's got probably one of the coolest introductions like, ever? Leaping in to not only settle the score with an old foe, but making his grand entrance by cutting down 100 mooks in only a matter of minutes? Absolutely awesome. And all throughout the bout, he never once loses control. Even when it seems like Benagg has him cornered, Cruger is able to use Benagg's' own force against him in order to free Katt from the trap she got put in. And I really like his weapon of choice isn't actually tied to the suit itself, but rather it's Cruger's' own personal sword that he's used for years; Long before he became a Power Ranger.

Speaking of which, the Shadow Saber might just be one of the coolest swords ever. Its overall aesthetic is absolutely my jam, with the wolf head serveing as the crossguard, which in turn opens up in order to power the blade up. And that's not even getting into the finishing move, which features covering the area in blue flames which is just really cool visually ontop of matching the aesthetic of the suit itself. Heck, the suit in and of itself is really cool ontop of being rather unconventional by Power Rangers standards, yet still falls in line with signifiers of other SPD suits. I especially love how, due to how the jacket is cut, his number can be read as either "00" or "100" with both being fitting.

On that note, I want to talk about a personal anecdote really quick: Now, officially, the Shadow Ranger is both the Black Ranger as well as one of the Extra Rangers this season. But as a kid I was confused, because Shadow was not only the Sixth Power Ranger introduced into the season, but the unconventional design of the suit got me thinking that maybe he qualified as a second Blue Ranger, which I in turn felt was fitting given Cruger's' blue scales ontop of his mentorship of Sky. Things only got more confusing once the actual Sixth Ranger of the show got introduced, but more on that later. I fully acknowledge that this is most likely just a me thing, as I've never heard or read anyone else talk about this experience, so if it seems like I'm talking nonsense, then hey, fair enough.

I've also neglected to bring it up until now, but man, the suits, makeup, and animatronics in this show are absolutely fantastic and still hold up even today. And we have Greg Aronowitz and his crew to thank for that too. For those not in the know, Power Rangers SPD actually had a lower budget than the season that came before it; Dino Thunder. As such, alot of the alien stuff you see on screen was actually paid for out of pocket by people who were passionate about the project, and man, I have nothing but respect in that regard. Don't get me wrong, Disney absolutely should've fronted the bill on that front, but the hard work and dedication of everyone on staff really shows and goes a long way into the excellent visual aesthetic as well as world building that Space Patrol Delta manages to pull off all throughout the season.

There's just so much to like in these two episodes. Even the comedy stands out with the (in)famous "BATTLE CRY!" shout from the B-Squad during one of the Megazord fights being the bit that most tend to remember. But all in all, this two-parter manages to bring basically everything together into a wonderful piece of storytelling, and I couldn't imagine it being done any other way.