[DreamSword]

Episode 26+27: S.W.A.T.

This is arguably the most famous two-parter in the entire season.

Many fans have fond views of it, and even many of the actors have said that it was their favorite set of episodes.

It's certainly an involved paired of episodes, with all three factions at play against eachother, various different sets being utilized, and of course, the introduction of the super mode for the season: SWAT Mode.

As such, I imagine it was alot of fun for the cast to film, especially given the very obvious nods to other Drill Sergeant shows/movies ontop of the near constant action scenes all throughout both episodes. And in terms of the fanbase, it helps that SWAT Mode itself ties into a certain other piece of the show later on.

Which is why I hate to be the stick in the mid in this situation, because these episodes are the closest in the show that I come to not liking. The short of it being that I feel like they sort of fly in the face of not just what SPD built itself on, but alot of the things that Power Rangers in general has worked with since the franchise's' inception.

The very premise, that, in Cruger's' own words, that the team has done almost nothing but bicker at eachother for the entire year, goes against all of the character development that the cast has gone through for the past... entire show. Which also in turn puts a dead stop to the very strong continuity that the season has otherwise had up to now. If this were the premise of an early episode, sure, I could see. But now? 26 episodes in?

And on the note of continuity, this two-parter directly follows the introduction of the Battlizer, which, given both the timeline placement as well as how the Battlizer fails to defeat our two villains of the week yet the two are easily defeated by SWAT Mode, makes it look as though the Battlizer, the thing that should be the ultimate weapon in any season of Power Rangers, look like it's gotten immediately outclassed in every sense of the word. Can poor RIC really never catch a break?

I take serious issue with Silverback's' lessons to B-Squad too. The biggest sticking point being his idea that the Rangers should instead always be on the offense and be as overkill toward any criminal they can. Not only does that have some very uncomfortable real world implications, but Power Rangers in general have a golden rule: Never escalate a fight, and in turn, only use your powers for defense. It's right there in the Mighty Morphin' theme song! And if that's not enough for you, here's another rule that really should be followed: Villains Act, Heroes React. Flipping that isn't good for anyone involved, especially not in terms of storytelling.

This is gonna sound like serious blasphemy, but I also think that SWAT mode is probably my least liked Super Mode in the franchise? It certainly looks cool, sure, and the added functions to the visors are neat, but outside of that? I really don't like how everyone's' primary weapon is now suddenly just a giant firearm. It'd be fine if it were just Red who got that, but replacing the Deltamax Strikers in their entirety means we go from having a cool, multi-purpose set of weaponry to... another blaster, with really nothing special about it. Even the finisher is just another big fireball that the K-9 Cannon already does better. Again, I feel like poor RIC is getting replaced here!

But, all that said, there is one shining aspect to both of these episodes that overall keep them in my good graces. And that is how much all of the side characters shine in this one. Sam, Piggy, Broodwing, Kat... all of their personalities really shine all throughout these episodes and I very much enjoyed whenever they were on screen playing off those around them. Had this been one or two episodes that more focused on all of the side crew, while the main five of B-Squad were off on a training mission or whatever, I think I would've thoroughly enjoyed that way more than what we ended up getting. Throw Boom in there(who was mysteriously absent this time around) and man, we're set. Such a missed opportunity, here.

If you find these episodes to be alot of fun, that's great, more power to you. But they don't do a whole lot in terms of appealing to me, specifically.