[DreamSword]

Episode 31: History

It's the first crossover with Power Rangers Dino Thunder!

And while it tends to go the more basic route of many a Power Rangers crossover, that in itself is still alot of fun to be had, especially in the minor details.

The premise being that Broodwing pulls Connor, Ethan, and Kira into the future world of SPD, in an attempt to force them to work for him. That ingenious idea goes south pretty quick, but Gruumm sees it as a chance for opportunity.

While the action is almost nonstop all throughout the episode, the character interactions are alot of fun, and there's plenty here to enjoy for both Dino Thunder and SPD fans. And really, what more could you want from a crossover episode?

Because, see, one big strength that an episode like this has in a meta sense is it being appealing on multiple fronts. Viewers who enjoyed PRDT but didn't make the jump to SPD can watch this without feeling lost, and also get rewarded with getting a glimpse into what becomes of the main trio of that show in the future. Meanwhile, SPD fans keep getting more that signature style they've likely come to love.

Speaking of style, one detail I've been holding off on until now has to do with the (in)famous "Kalishsplosions." Yes, this episode has them, but it's more than that. See, this episode features some stock footage from DT, and guess what's featured in it? If you guessed "giant fireball explosions" you'd be right. See, Dino Thunder actually featured them before SPD did, and yet SPD still gets all of the flack for "starting" the trend. Which in turn makes both the critique as well as the term itself make even less sense.

That aside, the action really is great here. My personal favorite sequence actually being the more relatively subdued civilian fight against the Krybots towards the start of the episode. Jack especially shines here; Showing off his gun skills while still throwing down hand-to-hand at the same time. Carter Grayson would only be more proud if Jack hit a monster with a firetruck.

While that basically sums up the episode, I do wanna note just one piece of fun trivia before signing off: When filming the episode, Connor's' actor, James Napier, hadn't actually seen the Commander Cruger suit beforehand. So the scene where Connor sees the big blue dog and instinctively steps up to protect Ethan? That was actually a genuine reaction from the actor.

But, yeah. It's a fun, action packed episode filled with some fun character interactions, and that's certainly enough for me.