Power Rangers Dino Charge #1.8 “Double Ranger, Double Danger” Review

Summary: The midseason finale showcases everything great about Dino Charge, while planting the seeds for promising future storylines.

Recap

Poisandra unleashes a clone monster to create copies of the Rangers. The Vivix show up while the Rangers are searching for the Ptera Zord, but in the confusion, the clone Rangers show up and get Tyler to leave the rest of the team. Separated, Tyler is on his own. Poisandra gets a hold of the E-Tracer, and the Rangers are forced to go after it without Tyler, despite the confusion caused by the clone Rangers. Fury, angry that Poisandra made such progress with her plan, decides to confront and destroy the separated Red Ranger on his own. During the fight, Fury reveals that he knew Tyler’s father, but just before destroying Tyler, he is stopped by an unknown force that takes over his body, allowing Tyler to escape and return to his friends. The Rangers are able to defeat the monster with the Megazord’s new fart gas ability. They retrieve the E-Tracer, though it has been destroyed and the villains likely know the location of the Ptera Zord. Kendall assures everyone that they’d still need a charger and the Gold Energem to have full control over it, and the Rangers remark that they will always be a team.

Review

Saying “Teamwork is an important part of Power Rangers” is like saying water is wet — it was even the title of the third ever episode of the franchise, after all. The end of “Double Ranger, Double Danger” hammers in the usual teamwork mantra, as expected, and it’s a pleasant note to end the midseason finale on, even if it’s not much of a hook.

The main clone plot of the episode is primarily used as a lead-up to the “teamwork” lesson, quickly getting past the “imposter confusion” right at the top. Instead of making the team look bad or infiltrating the Rangers’ lives like past seasons have done, this version of the plan is surprisingly effective. The clone Rangers separate the leader from the team immediately (which leads to the episode’s best material), get the Rangers’ E-Tracer stolen and then destroyed, and is a decent hurdle for the team. This season has done a great job making the villains more formidable than usual, and potentially giving away the location of the Ptera Zord and destroying the E-Tracer is a pretty big defeat for the Rangers, despite how the optimistic attitude might fool you.

Unlike many of the past few years, the episode appropriately seems like a midseason finale, in that it succinctly recaps where the show stands while inserting a few morsels for what’s to come. It’s not really enough to justify such a long hiatus, but what we get is nevertheless promising. It’s clear that these first eight episodes are merely the appetizer for the rest of the season; as much as the slower, purposeful pace has helped Dino Charge succeed, the downside is that it does take a while to get to the meat of the story.

Tyler’s journaling is both a convenient recapping tool and a solid character beat for him, establishing an internal monologue before he gets to act on the motivations later on. It’s not as though Tyler is a complex character and we needed these things explained to us — we “learn” that he’s intent on finding his father, and that he has a surprisingly insightful perspective of who his teammates are. But, aside from this being a kids’ show that excuses some characterizations being spelled out, it’s also the writers displaying a hand of trust. The characterization isn’t unintended stuff we’re forced to pull from between the lines like the Megaforce seasons; in this case, we’re right to expect diverse motivations and thoughts within the minds of these characters. We’re not looking too deeply into the subtleties of Brennan Mejia’s performances much of the time, because what we see is exactly what’s intended. As we see this week, while Tyler is one of the most fun-loving and affectionate Red Rangers we’ve ever had, part of that is to distract from the pain of losing his father. His childlike wonder makes a lot of sense for someone who, at his core, is a lost kid looking for his dad, even if he’s a very competent kid.

That, of course, is the best part of the episode. We don’t get much revealed here — even as the mid-season finale, this is only the eighth episode — but it’s a substantial tease for what we’ll see when the show returns. In this case, we get a big clue towards Tyler’s father’s disappearance: Fury did know him, and there’s a force inside of Fury that he has to keep in check. The easy answer here is that Tyler’s father is somehow inside of Fury or his merged with his spirit, but the prospects of that mystery and where it will take the show are what’s intriguing. Tyler’s civilian form one-on-one with Fury is stunningly choreographed, with superb wirework and fun details, like the car that Tyler basically smashes to bits. Tyler is already a highly likeable character, but “Double Ranger, Double Danger” is a wonderful showcase of how important this goal is for him, with Mejia nailing the ferocity and delivering one of the most intense performances since Jen’s big blow-ups in Time Force. Which, again, is pretty crazy coming from such an otherwise fun-loving character.

The Dino Charge villains are making their way up the line as some of the best in a while. They feel more old school than villains of late have, including a careful balance of comedy and treachery spread among distinct personalities. We’re at a point where Sledge, Poisandra, and Fury each have distinct goals that cause them to conflict, rather than making them fight just because they’re evil. This week, Fury and Poisandra come to blows out of pride; we know Poisandra wants to get freakin’ married already and powers through for that, but her successes only make Fury jealous of looking bad (and probably afraid of getting left behind again, considering he was stranded on Earth for 65 million years last time.) Fury’s efforts, in turn, only prompt Poisandra to try even harder to prove herself as more than just a walking lollipop. It’s a vicious cycle between the two, fueled even more by keeping Sledge — who’s barely in this episode at all — from losing his temper and making things unbearable. It’s not as though these are the most complex villains we’ve ever had, not by a long shot. But it’s an unpredictable dynamic, and like the rest of the season at this point, it’s promising for the remainder of the series. Other seasons have featured in-fighting and betrayals, but for the rivalries to be forming so early, it’s possible that there may be big shake-ups in the villain department as the season progresses.

Of course, this is also an episode that has the Megazord defeat an extra-strong villain by literally using a fart gas superweapon. Of all the embarrassingly silly things Power Rangers has done, this one is so ridiculously childish and facepalm-worthy that it circles back and just becomes kind of awesome. It’s a bit of a cop out saying that, sure, but you have to respect the ballsiness of unapologetically going for it. If anything, it makes the stellar Tyler scenes stand out even more, since they can excel even while couched between sillier scenes.

That’s Power Rangers Dino Charge, though: a lighthearted season very focused on fun, but one with significantly more competent foundations than seasons past. “Double Ranger, Double Danger” makes it clear that, even though Dino Charge isn’t a particularly dark or mature season, it’s a smart, appropriately funny one that has a solid grasp of its characters. Virtually everyone this season is well-defined, even if they aren’t terribly complex, and we are capable of seeing new shades of them as they develop in new situations. This isn’t the most memorable or world-shaking episode of the show by a long shot, but it’s another solid installment of a solid season. Even without a particularly thrilling cliffhanger, it’s certainly indicative of why we should be excited for what’s to come.

Odds and Ends

• This is the first appearance of the Dino Charge Cycle, though without too much fanfare. But hey, new toy!
• Chase saves the day by putting flowers in everyone’s belts, which is about the cutest battle strategy anyone has ever devised.
• The technology in Dino Charge is the most detailed and — dare I say — makes more sense than past seasons. The helmet has a HUD, with stats and a video feed! And there’s a direct video feed in the Megazord! Budget restrictions aside, it’s crazy it took 22 seasons to get to this point.
• Totally dig all the kitty puns at Fury’s expense.
• The giant combined Vivix monster, before it turns into a Fury clone, is legitimately freaky.
• “Monica loves me. Monica loves me not. Oh well, Monica’s loss.”
• “Koda, could you see anything from that tree?”
  “Just…very angry squirrel.”
• “A clone of me? In-Fury-ating!”