[DreamSword]

Episode 18: Samurai

Believe it or not, this is another of my personal favorite episodes from SPD.

The premise being that an alien samurai from hundreds of years ago ends up getting pulled into the future, and Gruumm takes advantage of it.

There's alot to unpack with this episode, so bear with me. First off, it establishes a natural anomaly in the Power Rangers universe: That rifts in space-time can just open randomly at times. This is important for later.

Second, the episode establishes that Cruger has started teaching Jack swordsmanship. Which makes sense. Jack doesn't have the Delta Rods like the other Rangers do, and thus would need the extra practice in melee combat. It's not like he's Syd, who's already a fencer.

Third, Gruumm here ultimately doesn't care if the Rangers are destroyed are not. Sure, it'd be nice, but his real goal is to steal a large supply of a special metal that strengthens other metals. This is the second time he's pulled a major heist(the first being the diamonds from awhile back). It once again shows that the Emperor of Evil can make more tactics than simply blowing things up.

Fourth, we get more cool showcasings of the civilian powers here, with the only person missing out being Syd, which is a shame. This is the fifth time that Jack gets to use his power, Sky shows that he's able to fire his shield off as a projectile, and we once again get to see Bridge read minds. And while it might seem a bit odd that the others are surprised at Bridge since he's read minds infront of them before, maybe they're more shocked that he didn't need direct contact this time? Eh, it's whatever.

And last, this episode features two things that appeal to me big time: Stylish swordplay and an intriguing atmosphere. Being an episode featuring swords so heavily, we get to see some pretty cool action sequences, with the final duel between Katana and Jack being pretty nice to see play out. Heck, the whole episode has some surprisingly good shots throughout it, which only does even more to carry the overall mood of the story.

Now, it's not perfect. There are some minor hiccups here and there such as Cruger somehow knowing Morrato's' name, and the fake Shadow Saber that Jack has somehow turning back into a Saber during the last few moments of the episode. But again, it's minor stuff, so I'm not really stressing over any of it. I'm far more enthralled by over just how much stuff this episode sets up for the future as well as the cool dynamic Jack has with both Cruger and Katana throughout this one. Cruger with his usual sly dog way of mentoring, and Katana's' honor being, well, honored Jack was some great stuff to see play out.

From what circles I've been around, this episode isn't really talked about all that often, which is totally fine, but I just personally dig it alot.

I wonder what's up with that sprite that came out of the time vortex at the end of the episode though? How curious...