Summary: A new Ranger yields lots of interesting ideas, but falls just short of greatness.
Recap
Construction works uncover the Graphite Energem, which is promptly delivered to Prince Phillip, who is sparring with his robot. He decides to use his robot to help the Rangers. When the Rangers admit that the robot mostly got in the way, Phillip asks Koda for advice. Upon hearing the story of the Energem choosing him because of his heroism, Phillip decides to use his royal status to do numerous good deeds around the world to make the Energem choose him, but it doesn’t work. Meanwhile, Chase’s sister Chloe is visiting, and Chase is constantly pulled away from spending time with her due to his Ranger duties. During a brutal attack from Fury — who is temporarily back in Sledge’s good graces thanks to saving Poisandra — Chloe is caught in the crossfire. Phillip charges in and saves her, risking his own life in the process. The Energem recognizes this as a truly selfless act, and chooses him to become the Graphite Ranger. With the help of Kendall, calls on his Pachyo Zord and manages to fend off the monsters. Afterwards, Phillip says he has to return to Zandar for his royal duty, but he’ll return whenever needed for the Rangers.
Review
Power Rangers has always, to some degree, had its lead characters “chosen.” Sure, we’ve had plenty of Rangers who seemed to stumble into their powers or weren’t the top choice, but they’re always supplemented by some eleventh hour “You were chosen all along” reveal or have concepts of “destiny” thrown in throughout. Ultimately, the Rangers will win and prove themselves to be the best men and women for the job, as that’s just par the course for Power Rangers. So to wonder if any Ranger is meant to be a Ranger always has a foregone conclusion, but that doubt and question can lead to vital character development.
“Rise of a Ranger” plays with that concept in a way Power Rangers hasn’t really done before, and deconstructs it like any good long-running show ought to. Prince Phillip is akin to a kid at home watching Power Rangers who desperately wants to be a Power Ranger, because Power Rangers are cool, obviously. Who can blame the guy? Who doesn’t want to be a Power Ranger? Many superhero narratives follow the “special person who wishes he/she was normal” formula, but there’s something so relatable in “the normal person who desperately wants to be special.” An easy answer that Power Rangers has pulled out in the past is “be yourself” because “everyone’s special” and all that, which is a great lesson for kids and adults alike. But it’s also worth acknowledging that it’s okay to strive to be better, and that’s the part of “Rise of a Ranger” that clicks best.
Prince Phillip’s arc, which started in “Break Out,” suggested that he wasn’t really that great of a person up until the Rangers saved him, and it continues here with a noble goal of self-improvement. Phillip wants to be a better person, the kind that an Energem would pick and say, “Yeah, you’re a real hero, good job.” And that’s great! Having an incentive to push you to better yourself is smart and helpful — having an outfit you want to fit into as a weight loss goal, or an item you want to buy as a savings goal, for example. As with his first appearance, Jarred Blackiston has a knack for making Phillip’s kid-like earnestness entirely believable, in a way that the kids watching who aren’t nearly as privileged as he is still relate. The fact that he’s royalty is a major part of his character and how he addresses these things, but the core of it all — wanting to better yourself to do something more with your life — is rooted in the human experience.
Of course, that’s where the episode makes this a little more complicated, and not quite perfect on what it’s trying to say. Intention becomes the crux of Phillip’s journey — is he doing it because he wants to be the kind of person an Energem would choose, or is just trying to manipulate his way into being a cool superhero? He has a real Energem, after all — one which he’s apparently been scouring the world for — so the goal is obtainable. But you can’t only want to lose weight for one outfit, it’s just a goal to push you towards better health in general. You can’t only want to save money to buy one thing, because it’s a goal to get you into better spending habits. It’s a lesson kids have to grapple with as they get older — right in the demographic Power Rangers is in, in fact — that you can’t just do something to get a reward, you do it because you know it’s the right thing to do. So, it’s not until Phillip commits an act of pure selflessness — risking his own life to save Chase’s sister — before he’s truly worthy of being a superhero.
That works in a broad sense, and it’s a succinct way of getting to the point. I can’t fault the episode for telling a potentially sweeping story that could make up a seasonal arc and capably fitting it into a single, uncluttered episode. But it’s also a very easy solution, even easier than what the episode sets up. For one, Phillip’s good deeds in the episode, whatever his intentions, are still really, really good deeds. That’s where his royalty status makes things a little muddled — “The Royal Rangers” made a wonderful, mature case for how to turn your privilege into something that could help rather than harm. This episode actually kind of undermines it by not acknowledging any of that stuff once he becomes the Graphite Ranger. It’s not a huge problem, and you can easily infer that, yeah, everything he did was good even if it wasn’t 100% pure in intention. But it’s a case where spelling it out might have actually been beneficial, making clear that even without Ranger powers, there are still ways to do good in the world other than charging into a bunch of explosions.
That wouldn’t be as much of an issue if Phillip’s ultimate selfless save better matched the parallel in Chase. The B-plot in “Rise of a Ranger” has Chase constantly taken away from spending time with his sister, sacrificing that relationship for his duties saving the world. James Davies has great chemistry with the adorable Mila Simmons — who is another case of Power Rangers finally getting decent child actors — and Chase playing the big brother is a highlight of the episode. While this ultimately collides with with Phillip’s storyline in a clever bit of writing, it also makes Phillip’s “sacrifice” pale in comparison. Phillip risks his life jumping into battle, and it’s an awesome moment, but it’s very different to actually sacrifice living a part of your life in the long term as Chase does. Phillip doesn’t sacrifice any of his royal status or social life, he just commits this one-time act of courage, so it’s a weird parallel that weakens how his arc plays.
These aren’t massive issues, and I’m definitely being harder on this than I would be on some other Power Rangers seasons. What we have in “Rise of a Ranger” is plenty of fun, and it’s still a generally solid episode with top-notch performances and action sequences. It handles the surplus of Rangers well — splitting up the Rangers in multiple battles with equally viable threats — and the Graphite Ranger design is fairly unique to the rest, even if the large bald top of the helmet is a bit off-putting. But Dino Charge has been very good so far at handling complex lessons and character motivations, so there’s a high bar to meet. Prince Phillip’s arc as it stands is good enough, but the episode introduces a few wrinkles that could have led to more a more satisfying conclusion with an even stronger lesson or example of self-sacrifice. This is a good episode, for all intents and purposes. But it falls just short of being a great one.
Odds & Ends
- It looks like Phillip going to stay on reserve for most of the show, in a recurring status. That’s a good way to keep HQ from getting too overstuffed as the team expands, but it will be sad not seeing Jarred Blakiston in a regular capacity. He’s really, really good.
- The continuity on this season is on-point, specifically characterization — of course Phillip has a strong connection with Koda, because Koda was the Ranger he spent the most time with and that showed him the err of his ways in his first appearance.
- The Energem effects when Phillip gets his powers are so pretty!
- News to no one, but Riley has the best selection of sweaters and sweatervests.
- Chloe giving Chase tickets to visit their family in New Zealand is adorable.
- I love the Pachyo Zord, what with it’s giant mace-tail.
- Lovesick Sledge is so CUTE. “Don’t worry darling, Sledge-ums is here!”
- “I never should have given you such long lasting batteries!”
